Returning Home
by SapphireEJ
Summary: Before Beth is born, Rachel and her fathers move away abruptly. Seven years later, she returns to Lima, finding things really changed after she left. Mention of major character death... For fic table prompt #36 - Return.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Returning Home, Part 1/?

Fic Table prompt: 36 - Return (table at my journal here: ( sapphiresfic . livejournal . com/ 31402 . html ).)

Summary: Before Beth is born, Rachel and her fathers move away abruptly. Seven years later, she returns to Lima, finding things really changed after she left. Mention of major character death... For fic table prompt #36 - Return.

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

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A/N3: AU after 1x13 ~ Sectionals.

A/N4: Puck and Rachel were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

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In November of Rachel Berry's Junior year in high school, her grandma, on her daddy's side, passed away from her continuing battle with a severe heart condition. In December, she found out that her grandma had left her dads the house she owned in Columbus, and though the two men both had jobs in Lima, they had always wanted to return to Columbus to be closer to their families, so they made the decision over Winter Break that they would move into the house they'd been left; moving their family back to the big city.

When Rachel dropped the news in the new year, most of the Glee kids had feelings of hurt or betrayal for her up and leaving, even if they understood she didn't have much say in the matter; she was a minor, in high school and under the care of her fathers, so she couldn't remain in Lima without a huge hassle... She had to leave.

At the end of January, Rachel transferred to her new school in Columbus, starting the second half of the year in February, so she could get going right away. She had a female cousin, a few months apart in age and in the same grade and at the same school as her, so she helped her out a lot to get settled into her new school and it didn't take long before Rachel was slowly forgetting she was the 'new girl' and had 'friends' from New Directions', since they'd cut all ties with her when she left, everyone except Noah 'Puck' Puckerman, who text her a few times, but slowly their messages ended and it hurt a little; after their brief relationship and a partial friendship grew around the holidays, she still continued to have feelings for him, but was scared of many things; a long distance relationship being one of them, so she pushed her feelings aside and within a few months, she had almost forgotten him, but the single picture she had of them together never left her bedside; it reminded her of the few happy days they shared as a couple and that was something she wanted to hold onto forever.

As planned, Rachel went off to New York University (NYU), where she majored in music and dance, but as the first year came to a close, she found herself enjoying dance more than anything, so she changed her major to dance and doubled in vocal music education, so she could teach choir or dance later on if she ever wanted to.

At the end of four years of school, Rachel was cast as 'Dorothy' in 'The Wizard of Oz', but after only three months of rehearsals and six months on stage, the revival the theater company had hoped for didn't pan out and the show was canceled, putting all the actors and dancers out of work. Sadly Rachel couldn't seem to find anything else suitable for her, so she returned to Ohio and began looking for a job teaching dance. She got a job at one of the largest dance studios in Columbus and in early 2017, found out that her former dance studio in Lima was looking for a full time dance teacher and she applied. The owner recognized her name and hired her without an interview, so Rachel spent a few months moving to Lima, renting a small house in a neighborhood not far from where she and her dad's lived many years prior and began teaching where she had once been a student.

...

**Tuesday, October 31, 2017**

**Halloween**

Rachel had been back in Lima for a little over three months and had mostly settled into her life. She'd met most of her neighbors on the street and as it got closer to Halloween, she asked if they got many children trick-or-treating, and they told her she would have a lot, so she prepared, buying granola bars and fruit snacks to give out instead of the typical bad-for-you candy almost everyone else gave out.

Sitting in her living room surfing on the internet on her laptop, she found herself getting up a lot to greet the kids that rang her doorbell, finding a vast variety of costumes the kids were dressed in.

Hearing the doorbell ring again, Rachel got up and moved over to the door, picking up the large bowl she had her semi-healthy treats in and pulled it open, hearing a loud 'trick-or-treat' from the kids outside. Smiling brightly, she looked over the group, "wow! What wonderful costumes you have!" She exclaimed handing a cowboy, a princess, a vampire and a ballerina treats and then turned to the final child and saw a very familiar outfit on a young girl about seven; the blue jumper dress, white top, white socks, sparkly red shoes and pigtails making a perfect Dorothy from 'The Wizard of Oz'. "Oh sweetheart, your costume is amazing! I remember playing Dorothy in a musical a few years ago. Thank you for dressing up like her," she dropped the treats into her bag, "I bet you and your mom took a lot of time to make that. It's perfect!" She told her.

The small child shrugged, "thanks, but I don't have a mom. She died when I was born. My grandma helped my daddy make it. Daddy thinks it's a boring costume, but I love the Wizard of Oz! You got to play Dorothy for real?" She asked.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry, I didn't know," Rachel blushed, leaning against the door frame. "Yes, I did. I played in it for six months in New York," she replied.

"That's so cool! Do you have pictures?"

"Yes, I do, but maybe you should let your dad know why we're talking," Rachel said, noticing the other kids heading off to the next house and their parents were standing on the street.

"Hang on!" She dashed down the porch steps and walkway towards the group of parents. "Daddy! Come here. You've got to meet this lady! She played Dorothy in a musical in New York!" She exclaimed, grabbing his hand and tugging him towards the house.

The father exchanged glances with his daughter, and the two other parents he was with and let her drag him towards the house, "alright, alright, I'm coming," he groaned.

As the young girl led him towards the house, one of the parents they had been with called out, "we'll go on in case you take a while."

Waving his thanks, he let his daughter guide him and as he climbed up the stairs to the front porch where the woman was standing, he first noticed her tanned long legs in full view from the skirt she was wearing and the plaid reminded him of a girl he once knew; the one who he always had feelings for, but she left and he lost touch when his life was thrown a major curve ball.

"This is my daddy. His name is -"

"Noah?" Rachel gasped in shock as her hands dropped the bowl of treats.

"Whoa! Rachel?" Puck stared at the woman and blinked his eyes in the yellowish light, "shit, it is you!" His eyes widened and he stepped forward, pulling her into his arms in a tight hug, needing to prove his mind wasn't playing tricks on him.

Rachel accepted the hug and felt the familiar muscles and arms she'd longed to feel once more, "I've missed you," she murmured, not realizing she said that out loud until the words escaped her lips as they pulled apart.

He looked at her and smiled, "I know how you feel," he admitted, realizing they had an audience.

Getting her bearings back, Rachel noticed the young girl and her eyes widened as she realized she looked to be about the right age, "she... is this..."

"You two know each other?" The young girl asked, looking between them.

"Yes, sweetheart, we do. This is someone I knew in high school, but I haven't seen in a long time. Rachel Berry," he said looking at her left hand to make sure she didn't have a certain ring on it, "and Rachel, this is my daughter Elizabeth, Beth, for short," he put his arm around his daughter's shoulders.

"It's very nice to meet you, Beth," Rachel said holding out her hand to her, "and it's still Berry. I'm not married or in a relationship," she clarified.

"Good," Puck smiled watching his daughter shake Rachel's hand.

"Nice to meet you, too, Ms. Berry," Beth said, unsure what to call her.

"You can call me Rachel," Rachel said stepping back a little and jumping when she felt the granola bar under her foot. "I can't believe I dropped the whole bowl," she blushed, kneeling down to pick up the treats.

Beth and Puck knelt down to help her pick up the remaining items on the wooden porch and as Puck reached for one of the bags, Rachel also did, their hands brushing against each other and if the hug didn't wake up their senses, the simple touch triggered sparks to fly and both pulled their hands back and looked at each other; Rachel was still blushing and Puck was beginning to feel like he was in high school; falling for this girl all over again and it had been some time since he'd had any kind of relationship aside from friendships.

Standing up, Rachel moved inside and held the door open, "please come inside," she said setting the bowl by the door.

Puck followed Beth inside and Rachel closed the door behind him, "wow, Rachel, I never thought I'd ever see you back in Lima again," Puck said turning around.

Rachel nodded, "yeah, I know, I was a bit surprised myself, but I missed Lima and some of the people here, even if most of them probably hate me for leaving like I did."

"Your dads were moving; you had to go with him. Sure, the club was upset you left, but between Will and I we got them to realize you didn't have a choice."

"You and Mr. Schuester defended me?" Rachel asked in shock.

Puck nodded, "yeah; we were friends, even if I was a crappy friend for not keeping in touch after you left."

Rachel shook her head, "no, it's alright, Noah. I feel just as bad myself," she shook her head a little, "how rude of me, please come sit down; I admit it's not as decorated as I'd like it to be, but it's home for now," she explained, stepping into the living room.

Beth followed Rachel into the living room and Puck unzipped his jacket, draping it over the back of the couch as he plopped down and Beth sat next to him.

"I'll be right back," Rachel said, disappearing down a hall to her office and returned moments later with a photo album, "these are all the pictures that I took or were taken of me and with friends over the six months I played Dorothy," she explained handing it to Beth and sat down next to her.

"Wow!" Beth opened up the book once it was in her lap and saw a full eight-by-ten-inch photo of Rachel dressed as Dorothy, from the pigtails all the way down to the red slippers, "you're beautiful!"

"Thank you," Rachel blushed and looked over at Puck as Beth continued to look through the pictures.

"So, you made it to Broadway, huh?" He asked curiously.

"Um, actually, no I didn't," she admitted, "close. Just after I graduated from NYU, I was cast as Dorothy in a 'revival' of the musical, but after three months of rehearsing and six months playing in an off-Broadway theater, it wasn't as successful as they thought it would be, so it was canceled. During school, I found that I liked dancing more than anything else, so I came back to Ohio and got a job working at one of the dance studios in Columbus. Working there, that's how I found out about Lima Dance Studio looking for a full time dance teacher. I went when I was younger, so I applied and was hired without even an interview because the owner remembered me. I've only been back a few months, but have been keeping busy with the studio, so I haven't had a lot of free time, but I'm trying to get some," she explained and then stopped, something clicking in her head when she glanced at the girl who looked a lot like her dad, "she... she said that she doesn't have a mom... What happened, Noah?" Rachel asked concerned.

Puck took a deep breath and exhaled, "a lot. There's a reason why I only sent a few texts to you for a few months after you left," he explained, "I... Quinn and I got talking and we decided to keep our baby. We didn't have feelings for each other, but agreed we'd figure something out, for our daughter, because we loved her, even if we didn't love each other. We walked away from all the adoption options we had been looking at and I got a job working at Burt's garage in town. The club pretty much tanked once you left. We didn't go to Regionals, so Figgins cut the program. Most of us stayed friends and the morning before Quinn went into labor, Quinn's mom showed up and said she left her dad because he had been cheating and Quinn turned her mom away, not wanting to just forgive so easily. We had had a lawyer draw up papers, kind of like a custody agreement, that did not give her parents any say in the care of our baby, because they hadn't been there for any of the pregnancy, so why start? We weren't eighteen yet, so we wanted to protect her. Anyway, when Quinn went into labor, things were going great. Mercedes, mom and I were in the delivery room," he kissed his daughter's cheek, "that was the best moment ever; I watched my daughter's birth and when the nurse laid her in my arms, I knew there was nothing I wouldn't do to protect her," he paused and hugged Beth, "things went down hill fast. While they were cleaning Quinn up, monitors started going crazy and Quinn was not doing well. The doctor started rushing around with the nurses and he called for another doctor to help and they were getting an OR prepped for an emergency," he paused and took another deep breath, "Quinn was bleeding internally and they couldn't get her blood to clot and they needed to find where she was bleeding from so they could stop it, but her blood pressure was dropping fast and as they were rushing her out of the room, Quinn yelled back at me to take care of our daughter and sometime later the doctor returned with the bad news that he'd lost her."

Beth stopped looking at the book and turned and hugged her dad, knowing he didn't like talking about how she was born, only because he felt so horrible about what happened to Quinn.

Rachel choked back a sob as she wiped her eyes, "oh Noah, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed getting up and moving to sit next to him, "I should have been here for you and Beth. I didn't know! No one called!"

Puck slipped his arm around Rachel's back and hugged her, "thanks, but there was nothing you could have done. Something tore during the birth and they did all they could, but they couldn't save her. With all the technology they still couldn't and it sucks, but she was younger than most to have a baby; her body wasn't ready for that stress yet," he said.

"I know, but I... I should have been here for you, Noah! No one should have to go through any kind of loss like that alone," she sobbed.

Realizing Rachel was really upset, he pulled her against him and hugged her, her words registering in his mind as meaning more than just as a friend. He didn't want to read too much into it without some conformation, but he began to wonder if Rachel had feelings for him, "hey, it's okay, Rach. Don't beat yourself up about this," he murmured.

Rachel pulled away slightly and looked at him, "what... what happened after she... she passed away?" She asked, the words feeling foreign to her to discuss a girl that should still be alive.

"I named our daughter Elizabeth Quinn Puckerman, she was healthy and they let me take her home. Quinn and I had already signed the birth certificate and they were waiting for the time, date, name, and baby information to put on it. We had a few names picked out, but wanted to wait until after she was done to be sure. Everything else was filled in, so they couldn't go back and say I wasn't the father when Quinn had already signed it along with me. We were planning to live at my house anyway, so we had a crib and stuff there; at least until Quinn figured out what she was going to do. Everyone was in shock; the school was all upset and we had a funeral about a week later and the church was packed. Her parents laid the blame on me because I was the reason why she was pregnant. Finn was just as hurt that we lost Quinn as they were, but he defended me and that kind of was the beginning of our friendship again. Quinn's parents tried to say I was unfit to care for Beth, and they were trying to get custody, so over the summer we were in court. Thankfully the judge allowed her to remain in my custody during this and Quinn was right to have those papers drawn up months prior to the birth because it saved us a lot of hassle. Her parents requested a DNA test and we were given 99.9% proof that I was her father and the judge found no reason why I couldn't have her, especially with the papers we already had, which was as close to a will Quinn had, stating she did not want her parents to have anything to do with her child, so the judge ruled in favor of me, granted me sole custody and when they asked me if I wanted to say anything, I told her parents, sister and her family that I never wanted to keep Beth from them completely and they were welcome to visit and I'd be glad to keep in touch with them if they wanted it. Her dad refused any contact and basically told her mom right in the court room he wanted a divorce. I email and talk to Quinn's sister and her mom every few months. They live in Columbus, so we go visit once and a while, but they're not close like my mom and my sister are with Beth."

"Grandma Judy doesn't like that I play soccer," Beth said, "she doesn't think a girl should."

"There's nothing wrong with a girl playing soccer," Rachel replied, wiping her eyes, "if you like playing, then go for it."

Beth smiled, "I like you. You're pretty, too."

Rachel blushed, "thank you, Beth," she smiled, "you're beautiful. I see your dad in you, but I also see your mom."

"Mother," Beth replied, "she's not my mom."

"Oh, alright," Rachel nodded, "um, wow," she murmured, rubbing her hands over her face, "I..." She jumped at the doorbell and realized it was still Halloween.

Getting up, she went to the door and greeted the kids outside and returned moments later, "this really wasn't what I expected," she said softly, sitting back down between Puck and the arm of the couch. "I knew I wanted to try and reconnect with some of the members of the club when I came back, if they were still here, but I... I didn't know if I should... I figured everyone hated me for leaving."

Puck slipped his arms around her shoulders, "Will and I got them to realize that you couldn't control what your dads got when your grandma passed away and they decided to move and you only agreed because you are their daughter; you didn't like moving, but with what was offered, you didn't have a choice. They were hurt, but they eventually got over it."

Rachel bit her lip, "I should have stayed, I should have tried harder to get them to stay," she felt the tears coming, "they took me away from..." She paused for a moment, scared to say too much in front of Beth, "they took me away from so much here," she finished.

"You're back now and it's not too late," he told her, staring into her eyes, knowing she was holding back from saying something and as she spoke, he felt something flutter in his chest and wondered if there was more going on than what was on the surface of meeting a long lost friend.

"Can I look at your pictures?" Beth asked, motioning to a bookshelf with pictures on it.

"Sure," Rachel smiled and motioned to them, "feel free."

Puck reached up and wiped Rachel's eyes, "hey, come on, Rach, calm down. You're getting emotional over things that you couldn't control," he told her.

Rachel took a deep breath, "yeah, but you've had years to get over the loss; I'm just finding out that Quinn isn't alive anymore and has been gone for seven years, Noah. It's emotional," she murmured.

"Oh come on, you two never got along," he said, laughing lightly.

"Noah, I'm upset because she's gone. I know we had our differences, but I'm allowed to be upset," she reminded him.

"Of course you are," Puck agreed, "I just don't want you blaming yourself or thinking if you had stayed things would have been different with what happened to Quinn."

She nodded, "I know. I won't blame myself, but if I had been here then, I would have been able to be here for my friends, or at least I thought they were my friends. They didn't even bother to call me and tell me. I _know_ some of them had my number, including you."

"I know, and I'm sorry, Rachel, but there was a lot going on; I just couldn't sit and call everyone I knew. I was scared and had a thousand things going on. I'm truly sorry you had to find out now, after so long," he told her honestly.

"It's okay, I know... I understand why you didn't and I'm not mad at you, I'm just shocked, that's all," she told him, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it gently.

Puck covered their hands with his other and smiled, "let's not make this another seven years before we talk again," he murmured.

She smiled, "we won't," she looked at their joined hands and didn't want to let go; she felt more alive at that moment than she had ever before and knew years of feelings bottled up were beginning to fizz to the top. "Is your number still the same? I tried calling you over the summer after we left, but it said the number had been disconnected and I didn't know your house number or your address because I had only been there a few times to meet your mom and sister," she told him.

"Um, no. I got a new number. I didn't want _them_ to contact me," he said blushing.

"Huh?" She saw his embarrassed look and realized what he meant, "oh," she nodded, "I... You're not..."

"It's been at least two years since my last relationship," he said.

"Oh, I've... It's been about that long for me, too," she replied, blushing lightly as she reluctantly let go of his hands with one of hers to get her phone.

Puck pulled out his phone and scrolled down to the 'R' section and found Rachel's name, "is this your number still?" He asked, showing her the info he had for her.

Rachel blushed and nodded, "yes it is," she replied.

"I'm sorry. Once I changed my number, I should have called you," he told her, sending her a message to get his number to her.

"It's okay, Noah, really. I'm just glad we met up again," she told him, saving his number and taking a picture of him to add to it.

"Daddy! Look," Beth pointed to a picture a few shelves taller then her, "you have that same picture by your bed," she said.

Puck looked where she was pointing, "Rachel has good taste," he smiled, seeing the picture of her and him from Sectionals, both dressed in their black outfits with red accents.

"You have that by your bed?" Rachel asked in shock.

He nodded, "yeah," he blushed lightly, squeezing her hand as they held them together again.

"You're the one he sang 'Sweet Caroline' to!" Beth exclaimed skipping over to them and saw their joined hands, "are you going to be my mommy?" She asked curiously.

Rachel's eyes widened in shock at the question and looked to Puck, "I... Uh, I..."

"Beth, gee, way to shock someone," Puck laughed lightly and looked at Rachel, his heart racing, but tried to keep cool.

"You two... You seem close already, like Uncle Finn and Aunt Santana," Beth said, "and I hear you play 'Sweet Caroline' at night sometimes, daddy."

Puck blushed, now the one who was speechless as Beth told one of his secrets. Rachel took a deep breath and smiled, squeezing his hand, "Beth, your dad and I knew each other a long time ago, so we are comfortable with each other because we were friends then. I don't know how your dad feels, nor does he know how I feel, but it's something I'm sure we'll discuss, maybe over dinner?" She told Beth and then turned to Puck.

"Yeah, I'd like that. Dinner sounds good," he nodded, thankful that Rachel said that.

"Can I come?" Beth asked, drawn to Rachel more than anyone she'd ever known.

"Not this time, sweetheart, but maybe if Rachel wants, we could go out this weekend, maybe after your game on Saturday," Puck said.

"Really?" Beth looked at Rachel and smiled, "will you come to my game?"

Rachel smiled, "I'd love to go to your game," she said, "I don't know anything about sports, but maybe you can teach me," she offered.

"Oh yeah! I can teach you about football, soccer and basketball. Did you know daddy played football and basketball in high school?" Beth asked with a grin.

"I did know that," Rachel nodded.

"I get to wear his number! Just like Aunt Arin does for basketball," she explained sitting down on her dad's lap.

Puck smiled and used his free hand to hold her, "and she picked soccer all on her own. She wanted to play sports, so I found a few kids basketball and soccer leagues and she went for soccer because she didn't want to copy my sister," he said, "even though Arin didn't mind."

"Wow," Rachel smiled, "that's amazing. I didn't know Arin was going to go for sports. What grade is she now?"

"She's a Senior this year; just turned eighteen," he replied.

"Wow," Rachel pulled her legs up on the couch and looked at him and Beth, "there's so many things I want to know about!" She sighed, "I don't even know where to start."

Puck reluctantly picked up his phone and saw it was already after eight, "well, I'd love it if we could stay, but someone needs to be in bed by nine," he said, poking his daughter in her side, right where she was ticklish.

Beth let out a giggle and pushed his hand away, "daddy! Stop," she giggled as he continued to tickle her.

"Fine," he sighed dramatically and grinned, kissing her on the forehead.

"Can't we stay a little longer?" Beth begged, "I'm not done looking at Rachel's pictures."

"You're welcome to come over any time and look at them," Rachel told her. "Do you live nearby? I could walk with you guys home," she offered.

"We're like two streets over," Puck replied, "and you're welcome to walk home with us. I'll drive you back when I get her in bed," he said.

"It's alright. I'm sure it'll be alright for me to walk home. You can't leave her alone."

"I'm not alone," Beth said, "grandma and Arin are there."

"Oh," Rachel looked at Puck in surprise.

"It's cheaper to live with mom and Arin. Beth is close with them and it's free baby sitting when I have to work," he said with a grin.

"You don't have to defend your choices, Noah. I just didn't expect that," Rachel told him, standing up, "I'll just be a moment. I'm going to put some pants on."

As soon as Rachel was out of earshot, Beth looked at her dad, "I like her. Do you?"

Puck smiled, "yeah, I do, kiddo. I have since before you were born," he told her softly.

"Then tell her," she said, sometimes not understanding why adults didn't say what they mean. "It's easy. She likes you, I can tell. She looks at you like Aunt Santana looks at Uncle Finn."

"Well, maybe she feels the same way, but I can't just tell her that without talking to her first; there's seven years of things to talk about," he admitted, glancing towards the hallway where Rachel's room was, "but I'd like to have her in our lives," he added.

Beth smiled, "me too!"

Puck smiled and nudged her a little, "come on, she should be out in a second," he said.

Beth stood up and picked up her trick-or-treat bag and headed for the door, "she's really pretty."

"Yeah she is," Puck agreed turning to see Rachel coming back with a pair of skinny jeans on with a pair of her ballet flats, "wow."

Rachel slid her arms into her sweatshirt and looked at him, "what?"

"Oh, um, I just don't think I've seen you in that before," he told her, motioning to her jeans. "You look great."

"Thank you," Rachel blushed and put her cellphone and keys into her pocket, "I'm ready to go," she said.

Beth pulled the front door open and stepped out on the porch and headed down the stairs as Rachel and Puck walked out after turning the porch light off and locking the door behind them.

Walking out on the sidewalk, they saw kids and parents were still out and the three looked like a family, mom and dad taking their daughter out that night.

Getting down to the end of Rachel's street they turned towards his and Beth's place and Beth was in between them. Remembering what she'd seen them doing before, she grabbed her dad's hand and then Rachel's and held them for a moment before putting their hands together until they laced their fingers together and she skipped down the road a few feet in front of them.

"Watch for cars!" Puck called out, keeping an eye on her, but glanced at his and Rachel's hands before looking at her, "um, are you okay with this?"

Rachel smiled, "yeah I am. I... You're not a stranger to me, Noah, and I... I always wished we had been together longer."

"Me too," he admitted, looking up to see Beth standing at the corner of the next street, "look both ways before you cross," he told her.

Beth did as he told her and skipped across the neighborhood street and turned around as they followed, but this time she waited until they were close and she slipped her hand in her dad's other hand, "do you have to work tomorrow?" She asked him.

"Yes, I work every day you're in school," he told her.

"You should skip work and go out with Rachel," she said.

Puck groaned, "Beth, stop. Rachel and I will talk tonight about our schedules and find out when we can see each other next," he promised her.

"Promise?" She asked, looking at him.

"I promise," he told her as they walked down two more streets until they reached theirs.

"I remember this. Like I said, I was only at your house a few times, but..." Rachel looked around, "even in the dark, I remember. Your house is the fourth one on the left, right?"

"Yes it is," he smiled.

Reaching their house, Beth skipped up the front walkway and up the stairs on the porch, opening the door before Puck and Rachel had reached the stairs, "grandma! Arin! You're never going to believe who we met!" Beth exclaimed moving inside.

...

A/N5: Thank you all so much for reading! This is a work-in-progress. I don't know how long it will be, but probably between 5 and 10 chapters. I hope you all enjoyed; please review to let me know. I'm an author of several other Puckleberry fics, listed on my LJ and FF accounts, so feel free to check them out, too!

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	2. Chapter 2

Title: Returning Home, Part 2/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

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A/N3: AU after 1x13 ~ Sectionals.

A/N4: Puck and Rachel were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

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A/N5: The series as a whole is up to 1x13 ~ Sectionals, but one relationship in the show, which will also be in here, didn't begin until 2x01 ~ Auditions, so just be warned; there are enough spoilers and comments out there about the couple, so though they have been dating since the first episode of season 2, not everyone has been able to see the show. That is the only season 2 thing that I'm using in this fic.

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Hearing Beth telling her grandma and aunt about her night, including Rachel, the two former classmates waited outside on the porch for a moment, "are you ready for this?" Puck asked softly, but then grinned, "because you know as soon as you walk in with that on," he reached up and brushed a finger over her Star of David pendant, "my mom will be planning our wedding..." He trailed off and glanced inside the house before looking back at her.

"Relax, Noah," Rachel said softly, "your mom just wants you to be happy. We don't know what the future will bring, but if that happens, it'll be at our pace," she told him, stepping forward and standing on her tip toes to press a gentle kiss to his lips.

"Our pace; I like that," he smiled, giving her a hug before guiding her into the house where his mom and sister were waiting for them.

"Rachel! It is you!" Arin jumped up and dashed over and hugged her tightly.

"It is," Rachel smiled, "Arin, you look amazing! You've grown so much! You're taller than I am."

Arin blushed, "thanks, but I'm still younger," she admitted, "but you look just as young. You're beautiful!"

"Thank you, Arin," Rachel blushed, a grin on her face.

"It's so wonderful to have you back in town, Rachel," Deborah said, walking over to them and gave Rachel a hug, "welcome home."

"Thank you; it's good to be home," Rachel admitted, accepting the hug and returning it.

"Beth tells us you were in the Wizard of Oz," Deborah said looking at her.

"Yes, I played Dorothy for about six months in an off-Broadway production," Rachel explained, "I admit it was a surprise to see Beth dressed as Dorothy, but I'm glad she was; she helped Noah and I get back to each other."

Beth grinned, "see! If I hadn't been dressed as Dorothy, she wouldn't have noticed me!" She moved towards her dad and nudged him in the hip, since he'd been giving her a hard time about being a 'boring character' when she could be something much cooler.

Puck smirked, "I'm sure I would have seen her out in town, but I guess it was a good thing you wanted to be Dorothy. Saved me a lot of time," he agreed, motioning upstairs, "why don't you say 'goodnight' and go change into your pajamas. I'll be up to tuck you in in a few," he told her.

She sighed, "do I have to?"

"Yes you do," he commented, looking at her, "it's a school night."

Knowing she wouldn't be able to change his mind, she said 'goodnight to Deborah and Arin and then moved towards Rachel, "night Rachel! You'll come over, soon, right?" She asked, hugging her.

"If you want me to," Rachel smiled, returning the child's hug, "maybe one day I'll bring over the video of my production and we can watch it together," she offered.

"Really? Awesome!" Beth grinned as she moved towards the stairs.

"It's a date," Rachel promised, "goodnight."

Waving at them, Beth headed upstairs and Puck guided Rachel over to the couch and the four adults sat down, talking lightly, mostly about how Rachel ended up back in Lima, and when Beth called him, Puck excused himself and headed upstairs.

As Rachel watched Puck disappear upstairs, she turned to his mom and sister; she didn't know them extremely well, but did remember them from a few meetings years prior, "wow. To say that I'm shocked is an understatement," she murmured.

"That's understandable. It was a huge shock at the time, too," Deborah admitted.

"Is he... Is he okay? I mean, you're all doing well with this?" She asked concerned.

"Noah is just fine and so is Beth. We're all okay," Arin promised, "it's been rough, but we worked things out."

Deborah nodded, "after Beth was born and with everything that happened right after, I used up a lot of the vacation time I had built up and took almost the whole summer off so I could help Noah figure out what to do, and it was a struggle, but we're doing well now that she's in school and has a more regular schedule than a baby."

Rachel nodded, "I get that. I wish I had been here. I should have been," she told them.

"Oh, hun, everyone knows you didn't have a choice when you moved," Deborah told her honestly.

"No one even called me to tell me!" She jumped up and began pacing as the reality of what happened sank in, "I mean... I know Noah had a lot going on, but Finn? Tina? Mercedes? Kurt? Artie? Mr. Schuester? Ms. Pillsbury? Someone could have called! I'm aware that most of them were probably upset with me for leaving, but I deserved to know! They wouldn't have been the only ones upset by this," Rachel felt the tears coming, but she kept talking, "seven years! I come back home in hopes to rekindle some sort of friendship with those who are still here and I find this out... I... It's not fair! I didn't even get to say 'goodbye'!" She sobbed, finally snapping, but before she could fall to the floor, she felt strong arms wrap around her.

"Let it out," Puck whispered to her as he held her against his chest, feeling her body shake as she cried, "it's okay. We all went through this and you're right, someone should have called, but we can't change the past," he murmured, "we can only live for right now and lean on our friends, okay? Just let it out."

Rachel turned around and wrapped her arms around him as she cried, clinging to his strength while she sobbed, but slowly with soothing words and his hands gently rubbing her back, she slowly regained her focus and realized how good she felt, feeling his strong chest and arms again, after being away for so long. Taking a few deep breaths, she looked up and smiled at him, "thank you, Noah," she whispered.

"Anytime," he smiled, lifting his hands to wipe her eyes.

"You all must think I'm a nut. I haven't seen you guys in seven years and I just fly off the handle and start sobbing. I'm so sorry," Rachel apologized, her cheeks red in embarrassment.

Deborah got up and moved towards her, "you don't have to apologize at all. You have every right to be upset," she assured her, giving her a hug, "it's alright."

"Thank you," Rachel accepted her a hug, and then got one from Arin, too, "it's really good to be back. I never should have left in the first place," she admitted.

"Well, you're back now and that's what's important," Arin told her with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess it is," she nodded in agreement.

After a pause, Deborah glanced towards the clock, "I think trick-or-treating is over for the year and I hate to say this, but I think it's time to turn it," she said rubbing her eyes, "at least for me. I hope you know, Rachel, that you're welcome any time," she added.

"Thank you," Rachel smiled at her, "I'm sure I'll be around. Goodnight."

"Go on up, Arin. I'll take care of things down here. I'm going to drive Rachel home, but I'm not sure how long I'll be gone," he explained.

Deborah nodded, smiling casually, "it's okay. Just lock the door and turn the lights off when you go," she said.

After sharing hugs and promising to come over soon, Deborah and Arin went upstairs to get ready for bed, and Puck began moving around the living room, picking up a few things and when went into the kitchen, Rachel followed right behind him, "wow, this is... Just wow."

Puck smirked, setting the dishes in the sink, "what? Not used to me being a grown up?" He asked with a grin.

"Well, to be honest, no, I'm not. And I also never thought you'd be here, living with your mom and sister. I figured the day you graduated high school that you'd move out, money or not, no offense," she replied, biting her lip.

"I probably would have, if I didn't have Beth," he admitted, leaning against the counter, "I don't know," he shrugged, "after she was born, I think a light switch went off in my head that told me I needed to shape up and be a good father to her because she already lost her mom, even if she'd have a huge family to watch out for her. I love her and I'll do anything for her. I was working at Burt's and he helped me out a lot and I guess... At first I figured we'd live here until I graduated and then mom would want us to move out, but she assured me we could stay as long as I wanted, and well, it's perfect. I always have someone I trust to take care of her if I have to work or go somewhere and she gets to be close to her aunt and grandma, so it's perfect and Burt is great with the schedule."

"You're still working for Burt?" Rachel asked, surprised.

"Yep. I actually manage the shop, so he doesn't have to work every day and Finn is my assistant manager. After Burt and Carole got married, Finn started working there to get some money and to spend time with Burt and now between the three of us, no one has to work long hours and they're okay with me working mornings and afternoons so I can get Beth from school and spend time with her," he explained.

Rachel smiled, "that's wonderful," she contemplated everything else she said, "Burt and Carole are married? Wow! I didn't even know they were seeing each other."

Puck nodded, "yeah, Kurt introduced them at some parent night the school had, I think just after you left, and they hit it off. It was kind of a shock for Finn, but over time he came around. They got married just after we graduated. You graduated in 2011, too, right?"

"Yes, from Centennial High School in Columbus," she replied, "though I wish it has been McKinley."

"I know, me too, but I'll go to your ten year reunion, if you go to mine," he winked at her, leading her back into the living room where they sat down on the couch, facing each other.

"So, if you and Finn work together, you two must have worked through what happened, um..." Rachel bit her lip and motioned upstairs.

"No, we hate each other with a passion," Puck replied seriously.

Rachel's eyes widened, "oh, I, um..."

Puck laughed, "no, I'm kidding, Rachel. Finn and I are like brothers again. We got past that when Quinn died. We kind of leaned on each other for support and he is Uncle Finn to Beth."

"Noah!" Rachel nudged him, "that's not nice! Quit joking about things like that. I really want to know what's going on."

"Alright, alright, no joking," he promised, holding his hands up in defeat.

"Okay, so Carole and Burt got married, you and Finn worked things out, so what else? Who else from New Directions is still in town? What is everyone doing?"

"Will is still teaching Spanish at McKinley and Arin has him as teacher. Ms. Pillsbury is Mrs. Schuester and she's still a guidance counselor there. Matt got a teaching degree in physical education and teaches at Lima Middle School and coaches football there. He and Mercedes were on-again, off-again after you left and she went to OSU here and became a dental hygienist and is working at her dad's office in town. She and Matt got married last year and now she's working on becoming a dentist," he explained. "Um, Brittany moved to LA to pursue dancing. Artie and Tina moved to Columbus to go to school at OSU, but broke up. Tina is back here working for the Allen County Herald as a writer and Artie, last I heard, was still living in Columbus. Tina and Mike are now dating and Mike is a nurse at the hospital with my mom. Kurt is in New York. He went to school there and focused on fashion and has done really well. He comes home every few months for a week to visit," Puck smirked, "he tries to bring Beth all these cool clothes, and some of them she likes, but most of them are dresses and skirts and she doesn't like to wear them much; she's happy in jeans and a t-shirt, just like her dad. Oh and I saved the most shocking for last," he smiled.

"This is all shocking, but go on," Rachel said, taking a deep breath.

"Santana and Finn just celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary in July and are expecting their first child in February," he smirked. "She's like six months pregnant."

Rachel's mouth fell open in shock; she wasn't sure what shocked her more; the fact that Santana and Finn were married or that Santana was pregnant, "Finn and Santana... and... and they're..."

"I know! Crazy, huh? The female version of me in high school settled down with Finn and is pregnant with his kid and is a totally new person! She's managing a nail and hair salon in town," he added.

"Wow," Rachel wasn't sure what else to say; her mind was completely baffled by what he'd just told her, not only about Finn and Santana, but also about the other New Directions members. "It seems like Brittany, Kurt and Artie are the only ones who really made it out of town for good," she said softly, surprised to find most of them still living locally.

"Yeah, but you gotta realize, it's a town of forty-thousand or more. We're growing and have everything here that we need to live, so a lot of us decided to stay here to be close to friends or family. You lived in New York, so you know it's expensive in big cities. Most of us would rather save some cash and stay near parents and relax more," he told her with a shrug.

Rachel smiled, "that's actually why I wanted to come back. I didn't grow up here, and I only went to middle school and part of high school here, but that was enough to know it's where I wanted to live. It's peaceful and I missed being here. It took leaving to figure that out," she explained, relaxing in contentment. The clock on the mantle chimed on the hour and the two looked and saw it was ten, "it doesn't seem like that much time has gone by," she commented, "it was just after eight-thirty when we got here, wasn't it?"

"It was," he nodded and then sighed, "I should, um, probably get you back to your place. I have to work tomorrow," he told her.

"Oh, um, yes, I have a class at ten," she agreed, "but I can walk home, Noah."

"Not a chance in hell you will," he replied, standing up and getting his keys and wallet from the table by the door, "a young, beautiful woman, walking alone, in the dark, with a lot of people out for Halloween. It's hard knowing who's safe and who's not and I would never forgive myself if something happened to you," he admitted truthfully.

Rachel stood up and moved towards him, "thank you, Noah. That means a lot to hear."

Puck nodded and once she was near the door, he turned off the light and pulled the door open and she stepped outside and after he locked the door, he guided her towards his black Toyota Rav4 Hybrid. Pulling open the passenger door, he let her climb in and he closed it, then moved around to the other side and got in the driver's side, immediately starting the engine to get the heat on. He silently pulled away from the curb and drove down to the end of the street and turned in the opposite direction of Rachel's house.

"Uh, Noah, my place is the other way," she said confused, motioning behind them.

"I know, I just want to make a stop first," he grinned and continued on the drive, but it ended shortly as he pulled into the 7-11 quick stop and parked in front. "Hang on, I'll be right back," he slid out and headed inside.

Rachel blushed and had a feeling she knew what he was doing, but couldn't see inside, so she waited and about five minutes later he walked out holding two familiar red cups and opened his door and slid back in, "just doesn't seem right to hang out without one," he grinned handing her the slushy cup and a straw, "it's grape. I hope you still like that flavor."

"I do," she nodded, taking it and smiling, "I have not had one of these in years."

"Same here," he admitted, "I walk past them a lot, but never get one. Now it's time to," he told her, sticking his straw into his blue raspberry one and took a sip before sliding it into the cup holder and starting the engine, heading back to her house.

Parking along the street, Rachel looked at her place, then at the cup in her hands before turning to look at him, "do you have to leave right now?" She asked softly.

"No. I'm a big boy. I can stay as long as I want; I don't have a curfew," he smirked.

She giggled lightly, "you know what I mean," she nudged him playfully in the shoulder, "I was wondering if you'd like to come in, so we could enjoy our slushies together," she suggested.

"Sure. I'm in," he grabbed his and opened the door.

Rachel smiled and slid out of the SUV and as they met on the sidewalk, he locked his car and they walked up to her front door and she used her keys to open it and the two moved inside and she flipped on the light so they could see.

"Are you renting this place or buying it?" He asked.

"Renting," she replied, closing the door behind him and then locked it. Walking into the kitchen, she set her cup down on the table long enough to take her jacket off and drape it over the back of a chair before pulling her chair and another out and motioned to one as she slid into the other. "I wasn't fully sure this job was permanent, even though they were looking for a full time teacher, so I didn't want to buy one and then find out she only wanted someone to work for a short time," she explained.

Puck mirrored what she had done and slid into the empty seat, "that makes sense," he agreed, "but do you know more now? I mean, is it just a temp job?"

"It's permanent if I want it to be. The owner is so happy to have me there and doesn't want me to leave and I don't want to either. I'm enjoying teaching and dancing daily and I'm back in Lima, so it's win-win."

"It is," he agreed, sliding his chair closer to her, picking up her hand in his, "so I've been talking about me and my life and what's going on here; what about you? What did you do after you left here?"

Rachel took a deep breath, "not much. I mean, I finished school in Columbus, and had been accepted to NYU, so I went to New York. During school, I found I liked dancing more than anything, so I made my focus dance and I also double majored in vocal music education, so I can teach choir, too. I graduated still in four years and I had been cast as Dorothy. In January 2016, it opened, but as I said early, it wasn't as popular, so after six months they canceled the show. I auditioned and looked for more jobs, but I didn't find anything I was really into, so I came back to Columbus. I got a job teaching dance at a studio there and that's how I found the job here earlier this year. I moved up and officially started teaching here in June, so I've only been back for a short time," she explained.

Puck squeezed her hand and smiled, "I'm really glad your back."

"Me too," she agreed, "but I never thought I'd hear you say that," she said softly.

"Why?"

"I always thought that you'd... After Finn found out the baby being yours, I... I figured that even if you two were going to give her up, that you and Quinn would stay together," she said truthfully.

"No, I... I never felt like that for Quinn after she moved in with us; it wasn't like she had a choice; she couldn't live with Finn and Carole after Finn found out the baby was mine and not his," Puck said, "Finn always had feelings for Quinn; I never had them; well, at first I did, but by the time she moved in, I didn't. I had my heart set on one person and she broke my heart."

Rachel's eyes widened, "who? Someone broke your heart?"

His thumb brushed along the soft skin of her hand, debating if he should tell her his true feelings and realized now was as good of a time as any to tell her, "she moved away our Junior year and I tried to talk to her, but I just... I knew she deserved better than me, so I let her go. I thought she was better off without me, and when Quinn died and I kept Beth, thousands of times I'd just stare at her number in my phone, wondering if I should call her and I'd... then something would always sidetrack me and after a while, I stopped trying to call, but kept her number, thinking one day... One day I'd call her, but of course, my mind got the best of me and I realized she probably was happy in New York, following her dreams and didn't need me dragging her down with my emotional life..." He sighed, "I was stupid, I should have called her thousands of times, but I was scared of getting hurt. She was the first and only person I ever truly loved and she could look past my harsh exterior and see I was a good person on the inside, even when I didn't feel like there was a chance I could be. Now she's sitting across from me, back in my life and I keep hearing that saying that goes something like, "_if you love someone, let them go and if they come back to you, it was meant to be, but if they don't, it wasn't,_" and I never realized how true that could be until this moment," he explained softly, looking at her, hoping she didn't freak out.

Rachel felt her heart beating faster as she listened to him, hearing him pour his heart out to her. Standing up, she slid onto his lap, straddling his hips and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips as he wrapped his arms around her waist, "you're the only reason why I didn't want to leave Lima, but as I said, I thought... I felt like if I stayed I'd only be hurt when you remained with Quinn or went back to your old ways, but I'm really glad I'm back here and I don't want to let go again," she assured him, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him close, pressing a kiss against his neck, "you've always been in my heart, Noah."

Puck's shoulders relaxed as he sighed in relief, "and you in mine," he pulled back so he could look at her, "I have feelings for you, but I don't know what they mean," he said honestly, "I hope they mean love, but I... I don't know."

"We've been apart for so long and we were young, so I think it'd be premature to say we loved each other, but if we both have feelings for each other, I guess it's time to find out if those feelings we had so long ago still remain and to see where they take us from here and I can say, for sure, I really want to find out," she admitted.

"Me too," he nodded in agreement, "I've waited too long to let this chance slip away again."

She grinned and kissed him, "Noah, I'm not going to lie. We have time and," she leaned in and kissed his ear, "we're both adults," she whispered.

A deep groan from his throat escaped his mouth as it fell open in shock, his body reacting in many ways as he held onto her, surprised that she brought it up. He hadn't been with anyone for almost two years and after his daughter was born, 'Sex Shark Puckerman' died, so this was almost new territory for him; he wasn't going to turn her down, but he was surprised, "wow! Rachel Berry, are you suggesting what I think you are?" He asked curiously, "just what did you do in New York?" He winked at her.

She blushed and kissed him, "I assure you, I did nothing crazy, but I did have a steady boyfriend for about two years and we did have adult relations, but we broke up over two years ago," she murmured.

"It's been about that long for me, too. I'm not... Fatherhood changed me," he admitted, "and I... I was checked about a year ago, just to know and... after all the stuff I did in school... I'm clean," he told her, wanting to air it all out before things got further.

"Good to know," she smiled, "and I am, too. I was checked out before I moved to Lima and I haven't been with anyone since I moved from New York," she added, "so can we stop talking and maybe start making up for seven years of lost time?" She asked hopeful.

"I'd love to, but I don't, um..."

Rachel rolled her eyes and climbed off of him to stand up, taking his hands and tugging him towards her room, "I'm up to date on the pill, so stop stalling, Puckerman, or you're going to make me feel like you don't want to," she teased.

"Oh don't even try," Puck followed her, "that's not even near accurate. I just am trying to lay the truth out before we get any further because I'm not used to this Rachel Berry. The last Rachel Berry I knew wouldn't even let me cop a feel of her boobs when we were making out on her bed," he commented.

"Well, I assure you, Mr. Puckerman, that won't happen this time, so shut up and kiss me," she commented, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He didn't even hesitate pressing his lips to hers, floating from the feelings he was having and feeling like he was a teen again, but she kept him grounded and aware that they were not teens.

...

Hours later, the two were wrapped in her sheets, content and relaxed, "a little over eight years ago today, we were practicing mash-up ideas in your room," Puck murmured kissing her forehead as she leaned against him.

She nodded, "eight years of bottled up emotions finally exploded the best way possible," she told him, pressing light kisses along his chest, up to his lips.

He smirked, "I'm loosing my touch. It took me eight years to get you in bed. That's _never_ happened before. You're a tough bottle to crack."

"But was it worth it?" She asked, nipping at his lower lip.

"More than you know," he told her, "it was so worth waiting for, but I'm still shocked you were so adamant about this, but I'm not complaining."

"I wouldn't have done this with just anyone, Noah. I know and trust you. Like you said, eight years since we first were together and seven since we saw each other last. That's a long time to hold feelings inside and once I had you back I wasn't going to wait any longer," she murmured pressing a kiss next to his heart.

Puck smiled and ran his hand through her hair, "I feel the same, but was willing because I'd never push you into anything," he told her.

"I know, and that means a lot, which is why I knew you wouldn't stop me when I was suggesting it," she grinned, stretching out on top of him, her chin resting on her arms that were folded and resting against his chest, staring at him.

"What'cha looking at?" He asked curiously.

"You," she replied, "this feels really good right now, just being close to you; I don't want to forget."

"You won't," he promised. "Wanna make plans for the dinner we were talking about earlier?"

"Of course," she smiled, shifting to lay beside him, "I have classes at ten, twelve, two and four, so I'm usually home by six. Would you like to go out or stay in?"

He smirked, "after right now, I'm voting for staying in," he replied reaching to pull the blankets over them.

"Sounds perfect to me," she agreed.

"I'll take care of dinner. Beth has soccer practice at three-thirty and she's done about five-thirty, so I can go get everything and pick her up after practice, take her home and then come over here around six," he offered.

"Sure, we could do that," she paused, "or I could come over to your place," she suggested. "I would like to include Beth as much as possible and it's not like we need to have dinner alone, now," she grinned.

Puck smiled, "you're welcome at our place any time, day or night, so if you're up for it, come over when you get home," he told her. "I'm sure mom will love to have you over for dinner. I'm surprised she didn't offer me in marriage tonight," he laughed lightly.

"Noah, you're mom is and always has been looking out for your best interest; she loves you," Rachel told him.

"I know, but sometimes she gets overly dramatic," he laughed.

"_Well I'm going home, back to the place where I belong, and where your love has always been enough for me,_" a song sang off in the distance.

"Shit!" Puck groaned, quickly sitting up and sliding out of her bed, looking for his jeans.

"Who is it?" Rachel asked concerned.

"It's the house phone, which means Beth woke up and can't find me," he found his pants and reached for his phone in the pocket and pulled it out, answering it quickly, "hello?" He glanced at the clock and saw it was just after one-am, "I know, sweetie. I'm at Rachel's house. I'm okay, I promise. Do you want me to come home? You know I will," he said sitting down on the bed and reaching over to brush his hand along Rachel's cheek. "Are you sure? Um, yeah, she's right here," he held out the phone to her, "Beth wants to talk to you."

Rachel took the phone, tugging the blankets around her chest, "hey Beth," Rachel said softly, "I'm sorry your dad's still here. Do you want me to send him home?"

"No, he can stay. I just wanted to make sure he's alright. Take care of him, okay?" Beth said through the phone, "and make sure he doesn't forget I have soccer practice after school tomorrow."

Rachel smiled and nodded, "I will take care of him. He already mentioned you have soccer practice, but I'll remind him so he doesn't forget. I'm coming over to your house for dinner, so I'll see you then, okay?"

"You are? Really?" Beth asked surprised, but the silent grin could be heard over the phone.

"I am," Rachel smiled happily.

"Awesome! Okay, see you later then. Can I talk to my daddy now?"

"Sure," Rachel handed the phone back to him and laid back against the pillows, letting herself relax as she listened to him talk to his daughter.

"I'll be home to take you to school, so I'll see you in a few hours, okay? ... Alright, get back to bed so you don't wake grandma and Arin. I love you baby girl," he told her and smiled as she returned the sentiment, "miss you, too," he pulled the phone from his ear and after setting an alarm for a few hours later, he laid his phone next to her alarm clock and stretched back out beside Rachel, "hey."

She blushed and kissed him, "why do I feel like we are two teenagers who just got caught by our parents?"

He laughed lightly and pulled the blankets over them, "because getting caught by my daughter is like getting caught by them, the only difference is that Beth doesn't know exactly what we're doing."

"That is true," she agreed, shifting closer to him, "so you're staying?"

"Yeah, but if you would rather me go home, I can. It's up to you," he added.

"I want you to stay, but you have a daughter at home that seems pretty concerned about you, enough to call and tell me to take care of you, if you stay," she said softly.

He smirked, "Finn and I have been known to stay up late, drinking and playing XBox at his place. If I drink, I always sleep on their couch, instead of driving home, even if they just live around the block. She sometimes has a bad dream and gets up to come get me and if I'm not there, she calls to check on me to make sure I'm okay," he explained.

"That's so sweet," she kissed him, "you've raised a wonderful little girl, Noah. I can't wait to get to know her more."

"Thanks and I feel the same way. She's an amazing daughter. I love her so much," he admitted, a bright smile on his face.

Rachel grinned, "I can tell, and she's very lucky to have an awesome dad like you."

Puck kissed her, "thanks, Rach."

She snuggled closer to him, noticing he was thinking about something, "what are you thinking about? I know what I'm thinking about," she winked.

He kissed her and smiled, "Mother Nature blessed you with a growth spurt after you left," he murmured.

She blushed, "I suppose that is true," she followed his gaze to see him focusing on her chest, "Noah?"

"Yeah, babe?" He looked up at her.

"Are you... Are you going to tell Finn that I've come back to Lima?" She asked softly.

"I had planned on it, but by you saying that it makes me think you don't want anyone to know," he told her.

"Well, I do want them to know, but I would like to spend some time with you without the addition of all our friends from McKinley before we've had a chance to get to know each other again," she explained, "I don't know exactly how they feel about me, but if they want to reconnect, they'll want to hang out and it'll take time from us having alone time."

Puck thought about what she said and agreed she was right, "I know they're going to want to reconnect with you, so you're right. What would you like to do about it?"

Rachel shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe you could just tell Finn you're seeing someone and not tell him who, just yet at least. Give us a few weeks or a month together before you let him know."

"I can do that, but what if you run into someone in town?" He asked.

"I greet them and catch up with them. If my relationship status comes up, I'll tell them I'm seeing someone, but I won't say who right away," she explained.

He grinned, "sounds like a plan to me. Wow! My Rachel being all secretive? Never thought that would happen."

"Your Rachel? We've only been together for a few hours," she grinned.

He smirked, "that's not what you said a few hours ago," he winked at her and pulled her close to him, letting the covers drape over them. "And don't plan on going home after dinner tomorrow night. I'm inviting you to have a slumber party," he added.

Rachel giggled, but nodded, "I accept your invitation and I'll even pack for a few nights if you'd like."

"I'd like very much," he said truthfully.

"Then I will," she kissed him on the lips and snuggled against him contently, "goodnight, Noah."

"Night, Rach, welcome home," he told her honestly.

She pressed a kiss to his bare chest, her lips grazing across one of his nipple rings, "it feels very good to be home."

...

Quote: "_If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don't, they never were._" - Kahlil Gibran ( www . quotedb . com/ quotes/ 149 )

Puck's ringtone for his house: 'Home' by Daughtry

Centennial High School is the name of a real school in Columbus, Ohio, but I don't know much about it. I just wanted to use a real name of a school there.

...

A/N6: And here is chapter 2... Review and let me know what you think! This chapter went through several revisions before I finally got to this one; I hope you all liked how it turned out. I finally have an 'ending' figured out, so I can't wait for you guys to find out what it is!

A/N7: I updated 'Broken Road' a few days ago, so don't forget to check it out and updates to 'Out of the Blue' and 'Starlight' are coming soon, too.

...


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Returning Home, Part 3/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

A/N3: AU after 1x13 ~ Sectionals.

A/N4: Puck and Rachel were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

...

**Wednesday, November 1, 2017**

An alarm going off at five-thirty woke the occupants of Rachel's bed and neither wanted to move, "do you have to leave right now?" She murmured.

"No, but I should be home by six-thirty so I can make sure Beth is ready, change for work, get her to school and get me to work on time," he replied.

She nudged him onto his back and crawled on top of him, "well, I think I know how I want to start my morning, then," she whispered, leaning forward to nip at his neck.

"What did that high school teach you? You were never like this at McKinley," he groaned, "not that I'm complaining."

"It wasn't the school. I just go for what I want, and I want you," she replied, looking at him.

"You want me?" He grinned, sitting up a little on his elbows.

She nodded, pressing a kiss to his lips, "yeah, I do."

"The feeling is mutual," he slipped his arms around her and pulled her against him and then rolled them over so he was hovering over her, "I really want you."

"Then take me," she whispered.

...

To save time, they showered together, but they did a little more than washing, so when they finally got out, he didn't have time to eat breakfast with her before he had to leave.

Wearing only a short robe, Rachel walked Puck to her front door, "I'll see you tonight," she told him, kissing him deeply.

He nodded, holding her against his chest, "you will," he promised, "call me and let me know when you're on your way over."

"I will," she assured him, "and I might just call you when I have a break today, too" she added.

He grinned, "call me anytime, babe."

Kissing and hugging once more, they reluctantly broke apart and she leaned against the door frame as he walked out to his SUV. As he got in and started it, they waved at each other and he pulled away from the curb and headed home.

Driving the few blocks home, Puck parked along the street and got out, heading up to the house and as he walked inside, he smelled breakfast and heard 'daddy!' being exclaimed by his daughter in greeting, still dressed in her pajamas, "hey baby girl," Puck grinned, picking her up as she jumped in his arms. "How did you sleep?" He asked as he hugged her tight.

"Okay," she replied, "where's Rachel?" She asked.

"She's at home getting ready for work," he explained, "and I came home to do the same." He carried her into the kitchen where his mom and sister was, "hey mom, hey sis."

Deborah smiled, "hey sweetheart. I had a feeling that you wouldn't be home last night," she commented.

"You didn't?" Puck asked in surprise.

The older woman laughed lightly, "no, I didn't. I expected you to be gone all night, but we need to figure something out if you're going to be gone on school nights," she told him.

He nodded, "okay. Rachel's coming over for dinner and she's gonna stay here tonight, if that's alright."

"Of course it is," Deborah nodded, "Rachel is a wonderful young woman, and she's Jewish."

Puck groaned, "mom, please. I know she is. Even if she wasn't, I'd still see her because I like her. I know Beth likes her, too," he added, looking at his daughter, still in his arms.

Beth nodded, "yes I do! And she's pretty and nice!"

"That she is," he agreed, setting her down so she could continue eating her breakfast.

"Are you going to get married like Uncle Finn and Aunt Santana are?" Beth asked between bites of breakfast.

Puck coughed a little, "uh, I don't know. That's not something that just happens. It's a big decision to make," he told her.

"But maybe?" Beth tried again, "she'd be an awesome mommy!"

"Uh, maybe," he blushed, plopping down in his seat, "where do you learn all this stuff?"

"Public school," Arin commented with a laugh, "and I know you've liked Rachel since high school, so there's no denying you haven't thought about it, bro," she said getting up and heading off to get dressed for school.

"The Puckerman women know something, Noah, and it wasn't me who brought it up this time," Deborah grinned, "did you eat yet?"

He shook his head, "no," he blushed again, "we got sidetracked."

She laughed lightly, but handed him a plate of breakfast and let him eat while she went to help get Beth dressed for school.

...

After breakfast, Puck changed clothes and gathered up his things for work and by the usual time, he was dropping Beth off at school and walking her into class before heading off to the garage and found Finn already there, "good morning, man," Puck said happily, dropping his things off in his locker.

Finn eyed his friend, "hey. You okay?"

"Yeah, why?" Puck asked, heading to the front counter to clock them in.

"Because you're never this chipper in the morning. Did you have that much fun trick-or-treating with Beth last night?"

Puck grinned, "oh yeah I did. It was fuckin' awesome!"

"Oh man," Finn groaned, "did you hook up with a single mom?"

"No, I didn't, but I did hook up with a girl I met while we were out," he explained.

"Define 'girl'," Finn said concerned.

"She's my age, recognized Beth's costume and loved it. We got to talking and she walked home with Beth and I... I drove her back later and next thing we know I'm coming home this morning to change," he grinned, "she's just moved here from Columbus."

Finn relaxed once he found out his friend had met someone his age and nodded, "um, that's cool, but you slept with her last night? Dude, I thought you didn't do that anymore."

Puck sighed, "I haven't been with anyone in years, Finn, it's not like I sleep with someone every night," he told him, a little pissed he was bringing that up.

"Well, you've got Beth to think about and what about your sister? Do you really want her to think it's alright to sleep with anyone?" Finn asked calmly.

"Fuckin' shit, Finn! What are you? My friend or my father?" He exclaimed, storming into the garage, to start working on a few cars that were left overnight.

"Dude, I'm sorry," Finn followed him, "but you told me you were changing your ways. What's so special about this girl that you're willing to throw all of that away for a one-night-stand?"

Puck shook his head, "it's not a one-night-stand," he retorted, "and she actually wants to get to know Beth and I like her!"

"Look, you say you like her, but you just met her; you're not that kind of guy anymore."

"I know her, alright?" Puck snapped, "knew her," he corrected.

"I thought you said she's new in the area," Finn told him.

Puck sighed and leaned against the car he was working on, "no, I said she just moved here from Columbus. Doesn't mean she didn't live here before. She moved away and now she's back," he finished, going back to work.

"What do you mean? She lived here before? Who is it? Do I know her?" Finn asked now completely confused.

"You should," Rachel commented from the open garage door; she hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but Puck had left his phone at her place and she knew he'd need it and hearing Finn lecturing him on his choices pissed her off, so she chose that moment to make her presence known.

Finn dropped the wrench he had in his hand and stared at her, "Rachel?" He gasped.

Seeing her dressed in a pair of form fitting jeans, black knee-high high-heeled boots, a gray over coat and a matching knit cap on her head with two coffee cups in her hands, Puck grinned and walked over to her, "hey babe," he slipped his arms around her waist and leaned forward to kiss her gently, "what are you doing here? I thought you didn't want to let anyone know right away."

She enjoyed the kiss and handed him a coffee cup, "I got you a mocha, I didn't know what you usually drank. Um, you left this at my place," she reached in her pocket and pulled out his cell phone, "I didn't think you should go all day without it and hearing him lecturing you, I... I couldn't stand around anymore," she admitted.

Puck kissed her once more, "thanks," he smiled, turning back to a stunned Finn nearby, "this is the girl I hooked up with last night," he said.

"Oh my God! Rachel, I... When he said that he knew the girl and then when I saw you, I... Puck, I'm sorry man. I shouldn't have been on you like that, I was just shocked... It's really good to see you, Rachel."

"You too, Finn, though this isn't how I imagined us meeting for the first time since I came back," she explained, nodding at him.

"Uh, yeah, same here. So you know about..."

"Yes, Noah updated me on everyone last night and I feel horrible that last night was the first time I heard about Quinn," she told them, "I'm still very upset with the way things happened, but... Nevermind," she waved her hand, "it's in the past and I'd rather not upset any of us right now over what we unfortunately can't change... Congratulations on your marriage to Santana and your child that's on the way," she added happily, but got back to what she was getting at, "I hope you'll stop lecturing Noah on his choices. I believe Noah has grown up quite well in the past few years and thinks of his daughter's happiness over his own, so don't judge him anymore; he's doing the best he can and as a friend you should counsel him, yes, but not continue to lecture him when he assures you he's not making a rash decision by sleeping with someone he just met. Had we never met before and everything else had been the same, I wouldn't have let him stay the night, nor would I have let my guard down as easily as I did," she explained, trying not to lecture Finn, but wanted to get her point across and out of habit, when she was frustrated, she stomped her foot lightly on the ground, but with the boots she wore, the sound echoed in the garage.

The two men exchanged glances, grinned and Finn walked over to her and laughed lightly, "yep, you're the same Rachel Berry we once knew," he said hugging her, "welcome back."

Rachel blushed, "um, thank you, I think."

Puck kissed her gently, "you haven't changed in some ways, babe, and in someways you have," he told her.

She ducked her head, but nodded, realizing what he meant, "yes, well, if I change too much then I'm not the same person, right?" She asked them.

"Good point," Puck agreed drinking the coffee she'd gotten him, "thanks for the coffee," he smiled at her.

"You're welcome. I needed a pick-me-up, so I thought I'd get you one, too, since I was stopping by," she explained.

A car pulled up and as someone began to walk into the office area, Finn motioned to them, "I'll get them," he said, walking away to give the two a few minutes alone.

Puck called out to Finn to call him if he needed help and then Puck guided Rachel towards her car, "alright, something's on your mind," he murmured.

She took a deep breath and looked at him, "I got to thinking about what we talked about, you know, keeping me being back from everyone and keeping our relationship quiet. As much as I'd love to have this super secret relationship behind everyone's backs, I don't want people to hate me and though you told me that everyone will want to catch up with me, but if they find out we kept this," she motioned between them, "a secret, our friends might be even more upset that we didn't say anything... I... I guess that's another reason why I stopped by. To tell you that and hopefully see Finn so you wouldn't be hiding things from him. He's your best friend and is obviously concerned about your well being-"

Puck leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her lips, silencing another long drawn out explanation from her, "I get it," her whispered, feeling sparks flying from their kiss, "I'm okay with telling people," he assured her, "it's up to you. I'll go with whatever you want to do."

"Only because I'll deprive sex," she teased.

He groaned, "not funny."

"Not trying to be, just being honest," she kissed him.

"I hope I never piss you off then," he grinned, "didn't you say you have a class this morning?"

"Not until ten," she said looking at his watch and seeing it was only nine.

"Cool," he said leaning against her car, "you need your oil changed?" He wiggled his eyebrows a little and let his hand slip down to rest on her hip.

She blushed, "somehow I don't think you're talking about engine oil," she admitted, trying to remain calm, but his touch was like fire burning through her clothes and all she wanted was to feel him, "and I got my oil changes prepaid when I purchased my car," she added.

"Then I'll have to make sure I do an extra special inspection under your hood some other time," he grinned.

"Noah, there are customers around," she warned.

Noah glanced around and saw no one there; she was parked next to his SUV at the side of the building and it was pretty quiet, except for the cars passing by the cement wall near where she was parked, "I don't see anyone. My car's right there..." He motioned to his SUV.

"Isn't Finn going to need your help soon?" She asked, actually contemplating the suggestion.

"He knows where to find me and I'm entitled to two fifteen-minute breaks on my shift," he explained, taking her hand and pulling the back door of his SUV open and motioned inside, "come on, it's freezing out here anyway and I'd rather not talk in front of customers."

Rachel slid in and scooted across the seat, "while I'm not against the idea, your daughter sits back here. It just doesn't seem right... What if we..."

Noah reached in the back and grabbed a towel from his gym bag, "sometimes Finn and I go to the gym after work," he said.

"You think of everything," she blushed, her hands reaching up to unbutton her jacket.

"Hey, if you don't want to do this, we don't have to, but all this talk is getting to me," he murmured, pulling her close for a kiss.

"Me too," she agreed, continuing to unbutton her jacket until she was slipping it off, to find a baby-T underneath.

"Shit, babe, are you leaving nothing to the imagination?" He asked, his hands going to her sides and working their way under her shirt.

"I never planned to take my jacket off until I got to the studio and changed into my workout clothes for class," she groaned, shifting closer to him.

Puck laid the towel out to sit on and then pulled her so she was straddling his hips and kissed her, "you look fuckin' hot," he murmured against her lips as he tossed her knit cap into the back end of the SUV and ran his hands through her hair as his lips found her neck, "want you."

"Stop teasing then," she whimpered a little and looked at him, "and it's too cold," she added.

He draped her jacket over her shoulders, "last thing I want is you catching cold," he told her as she slipped her arms into her jacket again.

...

Minutes later after their intense need was satisfied, she remained snuggled against him and blushed, "this was a first," she whispered.

"Really?" He asked curiously, brushing a hand through her hair.

She nodded, "yeah. Not everyone has a car in New York," she murmured.

"Oh yeah," he nodded in understanding, "well, I'm glad I could be a first for you, since I didn't get to pop Berry's cherry," he winked at her.

"Noah! Could you be any more like a guy?" She blushed.

He looked down at their bodies pressed together, totally clothed now, "I think I just showed you that I am really a guy," he told her, "and I'd show you again if I didn't need to work."

With red cheeks, she nodded, "I... to respond to your statement, I've never had an opportunity to do anything other than, I believe my roommate called it 'vanilla'. I've never trusted anyone that much," she admitted.

"Well damn, babe, I'll be storing that information for future reference," he winked at her and heard his phone ringing to Finn's tone. "Damn it," he muttered, grabbing his phone, "yeah?" He answered quickly.

"Zip it up, Puckerman, we got work to do," Finn laughed, hanging up the phone before Puck could respond to his comment.

"I gotta go help him," he sighed, licking his lips as he stared at her, "hope you have some make-up or a turtleneck to wear," he brushed his hands over a light bruise on her lower neck and smiled, "guess I left a mark."

Rachel's eyes widened and she shifted off of him to look at herself in the rear-view mirror, "oh, thank goodness I have stage make-up in my bag," she told him.

"Just laying claim to what's mine," he kissed her gently and shifted towards the door, looking at himself to make sure he was presentable, "don't forget to let me know when you're coming over."

She nodded and watched him slip his phone into his pocket, "I won't forget," she promised, "hey," she tugged him back to kiss him deeply, "don't forget me today, okay?" She requested, winking at him as he pulled away.

"Shit, babe, you've been on my mind since the moment I left your place this morning. Is this why you came, too? To remind me?" He asked curiously.

"Maybe I was hoping we could act like hormonal teenagers. We don't always have to be adults."

"You're right, we don't, and with that," he sighed, "we better go before Finn comes looking for us."

She nodded and crawled on top of him, kissed him once more and opened the door, sliding out first and waiting until he got out before she walked over to her car, "see you later."

"You will," he nodded and watched her get into her car.

Puck waited until she was pulling out of the parking lot before he made his way inside and blushed a little as he walked over to where Finn was working on a car, literally feeling like the teenager he once was. "Thanks man," he told him honestly.

"No problem. I remember what it was like," he admitted, glancing at his wedding ring, "and it still sometimes is like that now, so I get it. If she makes you happy and feel good, then I'm all for it and I'm really sorry about earlier. If I had known it was Rachel, I wouldn't have gone off on you like I did. I just don't want you messing up your family life or give Quinn's mom reason to fight you for custody or something stupid, that's all. Beth is with the only person she should be with and I don't want to see her taken away, that's all."

Puck rested his hand on Finn's shoulder and squeezed it gently, "thank you and I'm not going to let anyone take my daughter from me; she's my life."

"I know she is," Finn smiled, "and she's lucky to have a dad like you."

Nodding at his brother, he smiled, "thanks man," he said as a million thoughts ran through his mind and most of them included Rachel and her relationship with Beth. He began to wonder what Quinn's mom would think if Rachel did become Beth's mom, or step-mom. "_Puckerman, you really are thinking about that, aren't you? You just got back with her not even twenty-four hours ago... Take a chill pill, man, but you felt that way years ago, so these are just feelings coming back to the surface, aren't they?_" He answered his thought's question with a silent nod as he continued to work, knowing he had a lot to think about in the coming weeks and months as their relationship progressed.

...

Dinner went well; Rachel was welcomed into the Puckerman's home like she always had been there and as she stayed Wednesday night, it turned into Thursday night, too, and Friday she only went home after her classes to pick up some clean clothes, get her laptop and check her phone messages before returning to the Puckerman's to spend family night with them.

Saturday morning, the house was buzzing about seven because Beth had a soccer game that day and she had to be there at nine-thirty for a ten-am game.

"I think Finn and Santana are coming to the game, too," Puck commented, "she's wanted to see you since Finn first told her you were back in town, but she works odd hours, but takes Finn's days off as her days off so they have time together," he said.

"Really? She wants to see me? Are you talking about the same Santana I knew?" Rachel asked as they pulled into the parking lot of the elementary school the game was at.

"Yes she does," Puck nodded, "she's changed a lot since high school," he added as he got out, along with Rachel, his mom, sister and Beth.

Meeting in the back of the SUV, he opened it so Beth could get her soccer ball and he grabbed her gear bag and some folding chairs and soon they were walking towards the field where her coaches, and some other teammates and parents were.

"I guess everyone has changed a little. I'm going to have to get used to it," she blushed.

Puck slipped his free arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek, "it'll be easy," he assured her.

Greeting the other parents they knew, Puck introduced Rachel as his girlfriend, a friend from high school, and she was welcomed into their group discussion, but as it got closer to the game, parents started spreading out along the sidelines of the field on their teams' side and Rachel was looking around, "Noah?"

"Yea, what's up?"

"What are the main points of the game?" She asked curiously.

"Getting the black and white ball into the big net on either side of the field," he laughed lightly.

"Noah, I'm being serious," she nudged him.

"So am I," he motioned to both ends of the field where each team was taking turns kicking balls to their goalie, "you have the soccer ball and the field. At each end of the field is a goal. Each team as a goalie. The object of the game is to kick the soccer ball into the opposing team's goal, which is guarded by a goalie, who can also block the kick and the only person who can use their hands. There are two halves of time and in football, what I played, when the ball stops moving the clock stops, but not here. Each half is about twenty minutes and runs straight through, with a ten minute break in between. It's traditionally forty-five minutes for each one, in adult and high school games, but not here. That's basically it. Oh and each team has up to ten players on the field and they don't have a specific position like I did, other than kick the ball into the goal," he laughed, "it's easy. You'll see," he assured her. "Today is the last game of the season. They didn't make the playoffs, but they had one more scheduled game, so they're finishing up the season, so even if it's not meant for anything, the girls have fun."

Rachel nodded and looked around, "that's the most important thing, that they have fun," she smiled, "and it seems easy enough to understand," she added, leaning against him.

Puck slipped his arm around her and kissed her cheek, "you will. Cold?"

"Not really, but it is a little chilly out here," she explained.

"It really is you!" A voice exclaimed from behind them and before she could answer, Rachel had more arms around her.

It took Rachel a moment to figure out who it was, but then hugged Santana back, "yeah it is," she smiled, "wow, it's so nice to see you again, Santana, and with child, I see."

Santana rubbed her slowly growing stomach and nodded, "yeah, he finally knocked me up," she motioned to Finn, "but it was about time. We're ready," she admitted. "How are you?" She asked, acting nothing like the Cheerio Rachel remembered.

"I'm doing alright," Rachel nodded, "it's kind of been a whirlwind week, but things are settling down. I have to admit that it was a big shock to find out you two were married, let alone expecting your first child, but I'm really happy for you both," she smiled.

"Thanks. We got closer after, um, after we lost her," Santana said softly.

Rachel nodded, "I heard... I... No one called me. I wish I would have known, I would have wanted to come."

"Yeah, well, we were all in shock when it happened; no one was really thinking straight. It sucks how you left, a lot of things happened since then, but you're back now and I know I was a bitch to you in school, but maybe we could, you know, start over?" Santana suggested.

"I'd love that," Rachel smiled, "that'd be really nice. Do you... Do you know what you're having?" She motioned to her stomach.

"Not yet," she replied, "my appointment isn't for another two weeks and even then we're not sure if we want to find out. I hear you did the New York thing for a while and then changed your mind," she said.

"I did. After we moved to Columbus and I graduated, I went to New York University and found I loved dancing more, so I majored in that and vocal education. I did a Broadway show for about six months after I graduated from NYU and when it was canceled, I returned to Columbus, worked there for about a year and found the job at the dance studio in town that I went to and moved back over the summer," she explained, "I always wanted to come back to Lima and I'm glad I could."

"I'm glad you came back, too," Puck told Rachel, "and the game is about to start."

The two girls' conversation ended as they focused on the game. For twenty minutes they watched the six- and seven-year-old girls passing the ball back and forth, scoring goals here and there, until the referee blew the whistle to end the first half with a tie game of four goals each.

Puck held out a bottle of water for Beth and she took it, panting a little as she sucked down most of the water, "good job, kiddo."

Beth smiled, "did you see my steal?"

"I did. You did great!" He hugged her, "and your goal was awesome, too."

"Thanks dad!" She returned his hug and gave him a high-five, before she jogged over to join her teammates as they snacked on juice boxes and fruit snacks.

Once the players had a chance for a break, they rejoined her team and the game started back up again. It was another twenty minutes of back and forth goals and with only a minute left in the game, it was tied at six and Beth got the ball and managed to score the winning goal for her team. When the referee blew the whistle to end the game, her teammates cheered around her and after her coach and teammates joined the rest on the field, both teams lined up and walked past each other, giving each player a high-five before they returned to their sidelines and greeted their parents. Puck picked Beth up and hugged her, "I'm so proud of you! You did amazing out there!"

Beth grinned and hugged him, "thanks daddy!" She said as he put her down.

Those there to cheer on Beth gave her congratulatory hugs and then Beth looked at Rachel, "so what did you think?" She asked.

"I think you did an amazing job out there. Congratulations on the goals," she told her giving her a hug, "thank you for inviting me to come," she added.

"You're welcome! I'm really glad you came!" Beth admitted as they pulled from their hug.

"Me too," Rachel smiled at her.

"I think we should go someplace to celebrate," Santana commented, "this Latina is craving Mexican."

"Can we dad?" Beth asked hopeful.

"I don't see why not," he replied, "but we gotta go have a team meeting," he motioned to where the parents and players were circling around the coach.

"Oh, yeah," she grabbed his hand and led him towards everyone.

"We'll be back!" Puck called out as he was led away.

Rachel smiled and watched them, seeing him in such a different way than she once knew, and though it was a shock, she realized that he was always that guy in high school, but he never showed the caring side, at least not to anyone but her and maybe his family.

"Not the guy we used to know, huh?" Santana asked.

"Uh, yeah. He's... He's definitely grown up and I can tell he loves his daughter and would do anything for her. I think in the back of my mind I always knew he'd be like this, but I missed all of this," she motioned towards Puck and Beth, "so even though it's amazing to see... I missed a lot, but it's..." Rachel blushed.

"It's what?" Santana wondered.

"I... I always loved him, but... Seeing him now... I'm falling more in love with him, but we just got together a few days ago. I don't wanna scare him," she admitted.

"You won't scare him," Deborah commented, "I think he feels the same way. Talk to him."

Rachel nodded, "I will," she smiled as Beth and Puck returned.

"Alright, how about lunch?" Puck asked slipping his arm around his daughter while he draped the other around Rachel's shoulders.

"Thank God, we're hungry," Santana exclaimed, rubbing her stomach.

...

A/N5: It took me a while, but I finally figured the direction I want to take this fic in, so I look forward to writing it. The next chapter will be fun. Hope you guys all enjoyed; review and let me know!

A/N6: I've been off the past week and a half with a sprained ankle and I've been trying to write as much as I can, which is why I'm posting an update to all my WIPs today. I go back to work in a few days and want to give you guys something before I do.

A/N7: Though in my previous postings, I didn't mention this, but I'll mention it now. Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

...


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Returning Home, Part 4/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

A/N3: AU after 1x13 ~ Sectionals.

A/N4: Puck and Rachel were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

...

Once the small group was seated at lunch and had ordered their drinks and meals, Santana's order being the largest, they settled into talking and catching up. Rachel told Finn and Santana what brought her back to Lima and she asked them about the baby plans, including a shower, and Santana admitted that no one had offered yet, so Rachel said she'd throw the shower.

"What's a baby shower?" Beth asked, sitting between Puck and Rachel. "Does the baby come out of Aunt Santana and get a bath?"

The table laughed lightly at the mind of a seven year old and Rachel shook her head, "no, Beth, a baby shower is like a party for the baby, before they get here. The baby's parents' friends come over and bring gifts for the baby and for the parents to use with the baby, like clothes and toys."

Beth contemplated what Rachel said, "so it's like a birthday party before the baby?"

"Exactly," Rachel smiled, glancing towards Puck who was smiling at them.

"Cool! Can I get something for the baby?" Beth asked, turning to her dad.

"Of course you can. We're all gonna get something for the baby," he replied, hugging her lightly and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Ugh! Dad! I'm eating," she groaned, wiping her hand over where he kissed her and went back to eating.

Puck blushed a little as the rest of the table laughed and soon they were back to eating and chatting like they had been and as lunch came to a close and their meals were paid for, they headed out to their cars and Santana and Rachel exchanged numbers, promising to be in touch, so Rachel could start plans for the baby shower.

...

Returning to the Puckerman's, Rachel, Puck and Deborah sat down in the living room while Arin helped Beth change out of her uniform and clean up from her game.

"I'm so thankful for mom and Arin," Puck commented, looking at his mom across the room.

Deborah smiled, "we're happy to help out."

"Not that don't agree, but why do you say that?" Rachel asked, slightly confused.

"Beth has reached the age where it's the most appropriate to have dad help her bathe or change clothes," he explained, "so Arin and mom help out."

"Oh! Right! I didn't think of that," Rachel admitted with a nod.

"If I had to, I would, but Beth understands it all," Puck replied, thankful that his daughter was quite mature for her age.

It didn't take long for Beth to change into her regular clothes and as Arin and Beth joined the others, Beth turned the Disney Channel on to watch TV.

...

As the afternoon turned into evening and Deborah began to make dinner, Rachel and Puck went up to his room. He sat on his bed, watching her pack her dirty clothes from the past few days into her bags, "um, did we do something to upset you?" Puck asked.

"No, why would you think that?" Rachel asked, pausing in her packing.

"Because you're packing, so I'm assuming you're leaving," he commented.

"Oh, no! Nothing like that," Rachel moved around the bed to sit down facing him. "I've been here for a few days and have hardly gone home. There are lots of things I've been putting off, you know, house chores, and I figured I'd go home tonight so tomorrow I can focus on my house for a day and either come back tomorrow night or Monday night," she explained, "you guys didn't do anything wrong, but I don't live here; I have my own place I can't leave for days on end," she replied softly.

"Yeah, I get that," he nodded, having not thought of that right away, "the whole being an adult thing," he laughed lightly.

She nodded and took his hand, "yeah that," she slid closer to him and then crawled onto his lap, "you know, just because I'm going back tonight, doesn't mean you can't come with me," she whispered, "it's a weekend and I'm sure your mom and Arin wouldn't mind taking care of Beth for the night and maybe they could come over tomorrow and we could watch my performance from the 'Wizard of Oz'," she murmured, kissing his lips. "You guys have been doing so much for me, I'd love to return the favor."

"Oh yeah?" He grinned, wrapping his arms around her, "and just what would we do between tonight and tomorrow?" He asked curiously, but his body was already reacting to her being that close.

She shifted against him, "I could show you, but we might get interrupted," she whispered in his ear. "Tonight, I promise, if you come with me."

"I'm there," he assured her, groaning as he tried to relax.

"Sorry," she murmured, hating to leave him like that.

He shook his head, "it's okay. I'll be fine," he replied, kissing her, "I'll pack some clothes up, too."

Rachel shifted off of him and went back to packing her things, while he found a duffel bag and stuffed a few nights worth of clothes into it. When his mom called them for dinner, they headed downstairs and took their seats at the table. Over dinner, Rachel told them she was going home that night, but invited them all over the next day and Beth was excited to see Rachel's performance. When Puck said he was also going for the night, though Beth said she'd miss him, she was okay, since she knew where he was going and he promised not to leave until she went to bed. Deborah and Arin were alright with watching Beth, knowing the couple deserved some space, so they could get to know each other on an adult level, and they also agreed to come over the next day with Beth.

After dinner was over and dishes were put away, they sat down to watch a movie until it was time for Beth to get ready for bed, just before eight and when Beth came downstairs in her pajamas and said 'goodnight' to Deborah, Arin and Rachel, she whispered in Rachel's ear, "take care of daddy for me, please."

Rachel smiled, "I will," she replied, "goodnight, Beth."

"Night!" She waved at Rachel.

Puck and Beth moved upstairs and after just a few minutes Puck was calling Rachel upstairs, "hey Rach, could you come up here?"

"Sure," Rachel moved upstairs, "what's up?" She asked, meeting him in the hallway.

"Someone has a request," he said with a smile, motioning into the open door.

Rachel stepped into the room and quickly saw the toys and kid stuff around and realized she hadn't been in Beth's room, yet, only walked past it in the last few days. "A request?" She looked at Noah and then to Beth, who was tucked into her blankets and holding a stuffed teddy bear.

Puck sat on the edge of the bed and patted the bed next to him, "I usually sing something to Beth, and she realized something tonight, so she has a request, but I'm making her ask," he commented.

"Would you sing me 'Over The Rainbow'? You must know it if you played Dorothy," she asked, "please, Rachel."

Rachel smiled and sat down on the bed, "I do know it and I'd love to sing it to you. What does your dad usually sing?"

"His and Mr. Schuester's version," Beth replied, "it's faster than the real one."

"Really?" Rachel turned to Puck, curious about what she was talking about.

"I'll tell you about it later," Puck replied.

"Okay," she nodded, "I'll sing the original," she told her.

"Okay," Beth grinned, "thank you!"

"You're welcome," Rachel smiled, taking a deep breath and clearing her throat before she let the familiar words flow out of her mouth. "_Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, there's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby. Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true. Someday I'll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me. Where troubles melt like lemon drops, a way above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me. Somewhere over the rainbow, blue birds fly. Birds fly over the rainbow, why, then, oh, why can't I?_"

As she finished singing, Beth and Puck clapped for her, "that was awesome, Rachel!" Beth sat up and threw her arms around her.

"Thank you," Rachel blushed as she hugged Beth and helped her get back under her blankets when they pulled away, "I hope you sleep well," she told her.

"I will," Beth smiled, "I can't wait to watch your performance," she added.

"I'll find it and have it ready when you come over," Rachel promised.

"Okay! Night!" Beth said again and sunk down into her pillows, holding her stuffed bear.

Rachel stood up and leaned over her, pressing a kiss to her forehead, "night, Beth," she responded softly, then watched Puck do the same thing, telling his daughter he loved her and she returned the sentiment before the two moved out of her room and he turned her light out and closed the door.

"Thanks," Puck smiled, wrapping his arms around her in a hug as he guided her towards his room.

"You're welcome," she murmured, "I'm honored she asked me."

Stepping inside, he kissed her, "she asked me if it'd be okay; she didn't want me upset for asking you, but she realized you knew the song and couldn't wait until tomorrow to hear you sing it," he explained.

"It didn't upset you, did it?" Rachel asked softly.

"No, of course not," he told her, "why would it?"

"Well, it's a bonding thing between you two," Rachel noted.

"Yeah, it is, but so is a ton of other things we do. I love Beth and she loves me. I know that," he told her, "sure, I love singing to her, but if she'd rather have someone else sometimes, I'm cool with it," he assured her, grabbing their bags.

"Okay, good," Rachel smiled, "because if she wants, I'd be willing to sing to her again," she said.

Puck smiled, "I think she'd love that," he let her step out of his room first and they quietly went downstairs, "and I'd love to hear you sing again, too."

She blushed, "really?"

"Yeah, really," he smiled at her, setting their bags by the door, "you've got an amazing voice," he told her truthfully.

"Thank you, Noah," she said wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

...

Saying 'goodnight' and 'thank you' to his mom and sister, Puck in his SUV and Rachel in her car, drove back to her place and as soon as they were in the house and their bags were in her room, she started cleaning out her fridge, throwing away leftovers and some bad vegetables, knowing she'd need to go grocery shopping soon.

"You can do that tomorrow, you know," Puck commented from his seat at the kitchen table.

"Not really," she told him, pouring out some sour milk, "your mom, sister and Beth are coming over at noon, and I don't have a lot of food here. I think we should go to the grocery store and get food," she said.

"Now? It's almost nine at night," Puck replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, and Safeway is open twenty-four hours," she reminded him.

"Oh yeah," he nodded, "well, let's go now before it gets any later, because I've got plans tonight," he said, standing up.

"Plans? Just what kind of plans do you have?" She asked, walking towards him.

He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him, "they involve you, me, a mattress, some sheets, a few pillows and some adult entertainment," he murmured, kissing her lips.

Rachel giggled and slipped her arms around him as they kissed, "maybe we could get some chocolate sauce," she suggested as she pulled away and moved to get her jacket.

"Now you're talking! Store... Here we come!" Puck grinned, following her and grabbing his jacket on the way.

...

After over an hour of walking up and down the aisles, Rachel racked up a large bill buying things Puck assured her Beth and his family would eat, because she wanted to make lunch and dinner for them, since they'd been so accommodating to her over the past few days that she'd been staying their house.

Getting home, they started putting away her purchases, but it turned into Rachel putting them away and Puck handing them to her, since he had no clue where she kept anything and once she was content that the kitchen was semi-stocked, she turned around and grinned, "so, about those plans you had for us," she commented.

Puck took her hand and led her towards her room and showed her just what he had planned for them that night and hours later, relaxed and content from his 'plans', they lay snuggled together, "I don't wanna go to sleep," Rachel murmured.

"Neither do I," he replied softly, settling into the pillows a little more and as he relaxed, he glanced at her, he bit his lip, "I gotta ask you something, and I don't want you to get mad at me for it," he told her softly.

Rachel looked at him confused, "okay, what is it?" She asked, sitting up a little to focus on him.

"Beth has become... Well, she really likes you and I really like you, but have you told your dads about us?" He asked nervously.

"No," she shook her head, biting her lip. "we've only been together since Tuesday night, and dad, daddy and I all work during the week so we usually only talk on the weekends," she explained.

"Oh, alright," he nodded, "you are going to tell them, right?"

"Of course, but I admit I wasn't going to say who you were specifically, for a while. I'm mad at them for what they did," she told him.

"Mad at them for making you move away?" He asked, "Rachel, you can't hold that over them. It was years ago."

She sat up and crossed her arms over her chest, the sheet falling off her as she stared at him, "we've missed seven years together!"

"But we can make up for lost time, Rach, we're together now," he said, sitting up to face her, "baby, I'm worried about their reaction to this," he admitted, "I'm not just a single guy anymore... I'm a single _dad_. I'm sure they'd be cool if you were dating me, but I have a daughter now. It's different."

"I know you do and she's amazing. My dad's will be fine with this," she motioned between them.

Puck took a deep breath, "are you sure? Because Beth has become attached to you and I don't want her to get hurt because your dads don't agree with this and I'm not saying we would, but..."

Rachel wrapped her arms around him and kissed him passionately, "my dads can't tell me who I can or can not date. Beth is amazing and I'd never hurt her. If things didn't work out between us, I'd do my best to explain things to her, but I don't want us to break up," she told him, "and I won't let my dads change my mind, either. If they don't like it, it's their problem."

He relaxed, holding her close to him, "that's good to know. I'm sorry I brought it up, but I wanted to know."

"It's okay," Rachel brushed a hand against his cheek, "you're concerned about your daughter and I get that. I'll tell my dads soon," she promised him.

"Thanks, besides," he laid back with her in his arms, so she was against his chest, "I'd at least like to get permission to date their daughter," he grinned.

"I never took you for being so old fashioned," she replied, kissing him gently, "but it's awfully romantic," she added, nipping at his lower lip.

He tugged the blankets back up over them and kissed her gently, "I can do romance, and there's nothing wrong with asking permission to date you; I'd like to be on their good side," he replied.

She giggled lightly, "you will be," she assured him.

...

Getting a good nights sleep, Rachel and Puck were awake early and while he made them breakfast, she was already getting to work on cleaning up the house, doing laundry and digging through some of her boxes that she hadn't unpacked yet, looking for her video.

After a few hours of organizing things, and having breakfast, she managed to find the DVD and also discovered a box that had her costume in it; she didn't realize she had it, "Noah! Look what I found!" Rachel grinned, running out of the extra bedroom and found him sitting on the couch watching TV.

Puck turned a little and looked at the costume bag, "it's a black bag. Wow!" He smirked.

"Noah! It's what's inside," she replied, unzipping it a little and pulling out part of the blue and white checked jumper, "I have my costume!" She also pulled out one of the two red slippers, "I'm so putting this on before they get here," she grinned.

"Well, if my kid hasn't gotten completely attached to you, yet, she will be once she sees you dressed up in that; not that I'm complaining" he smirked, "would it be wrong to ask Dorothy out?" He asked curiously.

"I don't know," Rachel laid the costume bag over the back of the couch and moved around it to sit down next to him, "are you asking because I'd be dressed as Dorothy, or would it be because you have a thing for girls with red sequined shoes?" She asked crawling on top of his lap.

"I have a thing for you, period," he murmured, pulling her against him and kissing her.

"Good answer," she replied grinning and jumped when the doorbell went off, "they're here! Answer the door, I'll be out in a few minutes," she said grabbing the costume bag and dashing off to her room before he could respond.

Puck got up and pulled the door open when he reached it, immediately greeted by his daughter who wrapped her arms around his waist, "hey baby girl," he smiled, leaning over to kiss her.

"Hi daddy!" She threw her arms around his neck and he picked her up, "did you have fun last night?" She asked.

He smirked, but nodded, "yes, I did," he moved aside and let his mom and sister in. "Rachel has something special to show you, too," he added.

"She does?" Beth asked.

When everyone was inside, he closed the door, "yep, she does. She'll be out in a few minutes. She's changing."

"Hey Noah?" Arin looked at her brother.

"Yeah?" Puck set Beth down on the floor and kissed her forehead before helping her take her jacket off and hang it up on the coat rack by the door, "what's up?"

"I know we're here to see Rachel's performance and I do want to see it, but sometime today, I need help with my Spanish homework," she said, "can you please help?"

"Of course," he nodded.

"Thanks," Arin replied.

The four Puckermans moved into the living room and founds seats, waiting for Rachel to come out and when she called him, Puck followed her voice and found her in her room, completely dressed in the costume, "wow," he murmured, looking her up and down, "you look perfect," he smiled.

Rachel blushed, "you think so?"

"I wish I would have been able to see you perform live; I'd have given you a standing ovation," he said wrapping his arms around her body and kissing her on the lips.

"Thank you," she returned his hug and glanced once more in the mirror, "okay, I'm ready. I hope she likes this."

"She'll love it," he assured her, kissing her forehead and slipping his arms around her shoulders as he guided her from her room, grabbing the video on their way out.

Moving towards the living room, they paused for a moment and then both stepped into the living room and cleared her throat, "Beth," she said, catching her attention.

Beth turned to look at them and her eyes widened when she saw Rachel. Jumping up she ran to her, "Rachel!" She gasped, throwing her arms around her waist, "you're beautiful!"

"Thank you," Rachel smiled, hugging her and as they pulled away, she knelt down on the floor so she was at Beth's level, "I found my costume when I was digging through my boxes looking for the video and thought you'd like to see me dressed up as Dorothy in person," she explained with a grin.

Beth nodded, looking her costume over, "I did! You make the best Dorothy, ever!" She threw her arms around Rachel's neck and hugged her again, "will you wear the costume while we watch the video?" She asked.

"If you want me to," Rachel replied, returning her hug.

"Yeah! This is so cool!" Beth admitted, taking Rachel's hand and guiding her towards the couch.

Deborah and Arin both greeted Rachel and admitted they were surprised she had her costume, but agreed with Beth when she had said that Rachel was beautiful. Deborah got her camera out and after they posed for a few pictures, they settled into watch the show, while Rachel set up the DVD player. Once Rachel was done, she took a seat on the couch next to her boyfriend and Beth sat down next to her, excited to watch it.

Familiar enough with the movie, they all were able to follow along with what was happening and during the show's intermission, they paused it to get a light lunch and then finished watching the show.

About ten minutes from the end, the doorbell rang and unconsciously, Rachel got up and went to answer it, unsure who would be there at that time of day, knowing she wasn't expecting anyone. Pulling it open, she focused on two men standing on her porch and her eyes widened in shock, "dad, daddy! What are you two doing here?" She gasping, seeing her dads standing outside.

"Well, we got talking yesterday and realized that we haven't seen your place since we helped you move in and you haven't been back home for about a month, so we thought we'd come up and surprise you, and it looks like we did," Alan commented, motioning to her costume.

She nodded, "um, yes, you did," she replied, blushing as she stepped aside, "come in," she moved aside. "_I guess this is as good of a time to tell them as any,_" she thought, closing the door once they were inside.

"We noticed a few cars outside that don't belong to you. Are we interrupting something?" David asked.

"Yes, but not in a bad way, it's just a surprise that you're here right now. I've been... Well, some things happened this week and I've been meaning to call you to tell you," she admitted.

"Is everything alright, sweetheart?" Alan asked.

"Oh, yes, everything is great," Rachel smiled, hugging Alan and then David, "nothing's wrong. Come in and I'll introduce you," she said.

The two men exchanged confused glances, but followed her into the living room and noticed the two women, a guy and a little girl sitting next to him.

"Dad, daddy, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Noah Puckerman, his mom Deborah, his sister Arin and this cutie," Rachel moved over and sat down next to Beth, "is his daughter Beth," she said. "Everyone, these guys are my dads, David and Alan Berry," she said, motioning to them.

David ran his hand through his hair and grinned, "no mohawk anymore?" He asked, looking at Puck.

Puck stood up, "you remembered me?"

"Of course. I remember the boys my daughter dated in high school," he nodded, moving over to shake his hand, "it's good to see you again, Noah," David said.

"You, too, sir," he replied, shaking his hand.

Alan had never met Deborah and Arin before, but had briefly met Puck, just like David, so as Alan moved to greet Puck, David, Arin and Deborah shared brief hugs in greeting, since they knew each other from temple.

"You have a beautiful daughter, Noah," David said with a smile, moving over towards Rachel and Beth still sitting on the couch, "hello, Beth. I'm David. I'm Rachel's daddy."

Beth glanced at Puck and when he nodded in assurance, she stood up and shook his hand, "it's nice to meet you, sir."

"And polite," Alan smiled, "and I'm Rachel's dad, Alan," he said, shaking her hand.

After shaking Alan's hand, Beth sat down next to Puck on the couch and with a little shuffling, David and Alan found seats in the living room, and a moment of awkward silence fell over the room.

"I think I can guess, but sweetheart, why are you dressed in your costume?" David asked Rachel curiously.

"Oh!" Rachel blushed, "Beth likes the Wizard of Oz and we're watching my performance and I happened to find my costume when I was looking for the video, so I put it on to surprise her," she explained.

"Very nice. It all makes sense now," Alan nodded, glancing at Beth.

"Beth, how old are you?" David asked her.

"I'm seven and a half," she replied.

"Seven and a half?" Alan's mouth fell open in shock.

"Remember when I was going to McKinley and there was a girl in the Glee Club, Quinn, who got pregnant?" Rachel asked softly.

"Yes, we do," David nodded, and as his mind registered the date, his eyes widened, "is she that baby?"

"She is," Rachel nodded, "I don't know if I ever told you, but it turned out that Noah was the father and after we moved, instead of putting up the baby for adoption like they had thought they would, Noah and Quinn decided to keep her because they loved her and couldn't part with her," Rachel explained.

"Oh, that's quite understandable," David nodded.

"Noah, Rachel introduced you as her boyfriend, so I'm assuming that you and Quinn are no longer together?" Alan asked.

"Um," Puck sat up a little bit on the couch and cleared his throat, "Quinn passed away during childbirth," he explained softly.

David and Alan's faces fell in shock, both gasping, "my word!" David exclaimed. "How did... And... How did you two...?" Both fathers were so shocked they couldn't complete a full sentence or question, so Rachel went on to explain how she first encountered Beth and Puck, what he'd told her about what happened with Quinn and her parents and then what had been going on the past few days and why she hadn't called them just yet. "I'm sorry I haven't called you guys, but I've been spending time with Arin, Deborah, Beth and Noah, so I've been occupied," she explained.

"Oh, no, sweetheart, it's alright," David said, "we understand that; this is all such a shock."

Rachel nodded, "I am quite familiar at the shock," she admitted, "and Noah got the best part of it all," she said, hugging Beth and kissing her forehead.

"Yes, I did," Puck agreed with a smile.

David and Alan exchanged smiles and were curious what was going on between their daughter and Puck, but wanted to wait until later to ask them.

"Do you mind if we finish watching the rest of my performance?" Rachel asked.

"No, of course not. We enjoy watching it," Alan said, motioning to the TV.

Rachel hit play and though everyone knew how it ended, they still watched the final minutes and gave Rachel a standing ovation as she bowed on stage and also in the living room. "Thank you, and now I'm going to go change before I spill something on this," she said motioning to her costume.

With a light laugh from everyone, Rachel dashed into her room to change while Puck took the video out of the DVD player and set it on the TV stand so she could find it later.

"Arin, you've grown up to be such a beautiful young woman!" David commented, "how old are you now?"

"Thanks. I'm eighteen," she replied, blushing.

"Wow. Where has the time gone. I remember when you were ten," David admitted.

"Tell me about it. Soon she's gonna be graduating and getting married and having kids," Deborah sniffled, pretending to cry.

"Mom," Arin groaned, "I'm not gonna get married or have kids anytime soon," she promised, "but I can't control the whole graduation thing, well, I could if I wanted to flunk one of my classes, but I'd rather not do that," she added.

"I certainly hope not," Rachel commented, coming into the living room at the end of the conversation.

Arin laughed, "I'm not planning on it."

"Good," Rachel replied, sitting down near her boyfriend, "dad, daddy, are you two staying for dinner?"

David and Alan agreed to stay and though their visit was a surprise, they seemed to get along well with Puck, Deborah, Arin and Beth, so Rachel was happy to know that they were open to her knowing the Puckermans, but she wasn't quite sure what they felt about her and Puck were dating, but she also didn't want to talk to them about that topic with her boyfriend around, especially because she didn't want Beth to hear them talking about that.

Beth helped Rachel make dinner while Deborah, Alan and David stayed in the living room and Puck sat down with Arin at the kitchen table to help her on the homework she'd asked about earlier and things continued to go well.

When everyone sat down to dinner, light conversations continued and no one seemed to be uncomfortable and Deborah even extended a Thanksgiving dinner invitation to Rachel and her dads and they accepted, happy to spend the holiday together.

After dinner, once dishes were washed and put away, Deborah suggested she take Arin and Beth home so they could start getting ready for school the next day, but it was Deborah's way of getting Beth out of the house, so Rachel and Puck had an opportunity to talk to her dads without young ears around, since this all came as a shock to the two men and she expected there would be questions the guys were holding back from asking with Beth nearby.

"I'll be home in a few hours," Puck promised, picking up Beth and kissing her on the cheek.

"In time to tuck me in?" She asked, wrapping her short arms around his neck.

"In time to tuck you in," he promised.

"Awesome! See you soon, daddy!" She hugged him once more before he set her down and then went to say 'bye' to Rachel and her dads before Beth followed Arin and Deborah out of the house.

Once they were on their way home, Puck closed the door and joined Rachel and her dads in the living room, unsure just where to start the conversation he wanted to have with her dads.

"You have a wonderful little girl there, Noah," Alan said honestly.

"Thank you. I've tried my best and I owe a lot to my mom and sister for sticking by and helping me," Puck replied, "but Beth is worth it."

David smiled, "our children are worth everything we have," he agreed, "but that also doesn't mean you shouldn't be happy yourself," he added.

"I am happy," Puck agreed, taking Rachel's hand in his, "happier in the last few days than I have been in a long time."

Rachel smiled and squeezed his hand, "I have to say I'm very happy with what has happened in the past few days, too," she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Puck's lips and then turned to her dads, "last night, Noah and I were talking, and though I'm pretty sure I know your answer, it'd still be nice to know, by asking."

"You want to know if we're alright with you dating, given that Noah has a child?" Alan asked them.

Puck nodded, "um, yeah, how did you guys..."

David laughed lightly, "Noah, you've been a little hesitant around us, and it's a valid concern to have," he replied, "and no, we don't have a problem with you two dating," he added and Alan nodded in agreement.

Rachel grinned, "see, I told you," she told Puck.

Puck blushed, "yeah, you did, but I just wanted to be sure," he admitted, "Beth really likes you and I don't want to see her get hurt," he replied honestly, "and it's nice to know you guys are okay with us dating, because I really like your daughter, and I want to see where our relationship goes," he added, smiling at Rachel.

It was Rachel's turn to blush, "I'd like the same thing," she admitted.

"Noah, you just have to promise us one thing," Alan said.

"Anything," Puck said, looking at them.

"Promise us that you'll treat our daughter how you expect a boy to treat yours someday," Alan requested.

Puck squeezed Rachel's hand and nodded, "I can promise you, I will treat Rachel with the utmost respect," he said honestly, looking at them, "I care about her too much to hurt her."

David and Alan smiled, "then, as we told you, you have our blessing," Alan said.

"Thank you," Puck smiled, relieved to know her dads were okay with their relationship.

...

Lyrics: 'Over The Rainbow' as sung by Judy Garland in the original 'Wizard Of Oz'.

...

A/N5: Hope you all enjoyed! Please review and let me know!

A/N6: For those of you who have not read 'Out of the Blue', 'Starlight' or 'Leave Out All The Rest'... Back in August my mom was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Since then she had gone through weeks of chemo, external and internal radiation and initially they thought she'd need a hysterectomy, but just before Christmas we found out that she is cancer free and doesn't need a hysterectomy like they first thought, so things are going great! January is cervical cancer awareness month (the cervical cancer color is teal & white) and it's feels great to say she's cervical cancer free now! I wanted to share that good news with you all!

...


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Returning Home, Part 5/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

A/N3: AU after 1x13 ~ Sectionals.

A/N4: Puck and Rachel were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

...

Rachel said 'goodbye' to her dads and she and Puck waited by the door as the two men walked to their car, got in and drove away. As soon as they were gone, they closed the door and she leaned against it, with a blush on her cheeks, "wow, what a day," she murmured.

"Yeah, tell me about it," he agreed, sighing in relief as he moved into her living room and plopped down on the couch.

She followed him and sat down next to him, "I honestly did not invite them over," she replied.

"I know," Puck nodded, "I believe you. I'm just really glad you were right about them."

Leaning over and kissing him, she smiled, "see, I told you I knew my dads."

"Yes you do," he agreed, smiling and pulling her into his lap, "what would you like to do for the rest of the night?"

"You promised Beth you'd be home later tonight, so I figured we could go back to your place," she said looking at him.

"Sounds good to me, Ms. Berry," he grinned.

...

For the next couple weeks, Rachel and Puck spent as much time together as possible. He was working his regular shifts at the garage, eight to three, Monday to Friday and she seemed to have similar hours during the week, with the weekends off. They stayed at his place with his family, sometimes going out to dinner, and at least one night a weekend they would stay at her house, for some more adult time together, but while they were at the Puckerman's, Beth understood she needed to knock on his door before she barged in, so there hadn't been any issues with her surprising them in a compromising position.

The new couple was quickly growing closer, as if the long seven years apart never happened and Puck was extremely happy to see how close Rachel and Beth were getting. In just a short time, Beth was attached to Rachel, not only because of Rachel dressing up as Dorothy, but also because Rachel was interested in what Beth was doing. Beth started asking Rachel to help her with her homework, do crafts together or baking, instead of always asking her grandma or aunt and Rachel was happy to help out, herself growing a motherly love for the young child, while her love grew more for Beth's dad.

...

It was a Saturday, less than a week before Thanksgiving and the Puckerman house was almost empty, except for Rachel and Beth. Puck was covering for Finn at the garage and Deborah and Arin went to the grocery store, so Rachel stayed with Beth at the house.

"Rachel, can we make some cookies?" Beth asked hopeful.

"Sure, but are you sure we have everything we need?" She asked, getting up from the couch to follow Beth into the kitchen.

Beth nodded, "I asked grandma if we could make cookies and she said we had everything."

"Awesome!" Rachel smiled, "then let's make cookies. What kind do you want to make?"

"Chocolate chip!" Beth grinned, moving to the pantry to get the bag of chocolate chips.

"Now I don't remember the recipe, so you're gonna have to tell me what we need," Rachel commented.

Beth turned the bag around and pointed to the text on it, "it's right here, Rachel. I can't read all the words, so can you help me?"

Rachel smiled, "I can do that," she nodded.

While Beth tried to sound out all the ingredient names, Rachel helped her and they soon had all the items and bowls out that they needed. "Do you think we could take some to daddy at work?" Beth asked her.

Rachel glanced at the time at saw it was just after eleven, "I think your dad would love that," she smiled.

"Awesome!" Beth pushed her step stool over to the counter and stood up so she could help better, "he's always seems to be at work when me and grandma make these, but we never took him some."

Beth nodded and between her sounding out the words and Rachel helping out, showing her what measurements were called for on the package, it wasn't long before they were spooning the cookie dough out onto two pans, washing their hands and sliding them into the oven. "Great job," Rachel smiled as she closed the door of the oven and set the timer, "in just a little bit we'll have fresh chocolate chip cookies," she told her.

"Yum!" Beth grinned, wrapping her arms around Rachel's waist, "thank you, Rachel!"

Rachel leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "you're welcome, Beth."

"I wish you and daddy would get married," she commented as they pulled away, "I want you as my mommy."

She gasped, looking at her, "wow, you really feel that way?"

"I do. We have fun together, but you still make me follow the rules and I know daddy loves you and I love you, too!" Beth smiled, hugging her.

Rachel felt tears come to her eyes at Beth's admission and she knelt down to look at her, knowing she had to be careful with what she said, but though she hadn't said the words to Puck yet, the feelings were really there, "I love you, too," she assured her, "I haven't told your dad yet, but I do love him. I enjoy spending time with you and I hope we get to continue, but you do know that your dad and I getting married is something we have to talk about, right?"

Beth nodded, "I know, but why haven't you said anything?"

"Well, feelings like this are sometimes not easy for adults to talk about, because they're afraid of what the other will think, but I will tell him," she promised.

"Soon?" Beth asked.

"Soon," Rachel nodded, hugging her tightly.

...

Beth helped Rachel clean up the kitchen, and as they worked, Rachel couldn't wipe the smile from her lips as she thought about the conversation she and Beth had. Beth was adorable, smart, well behaved and everything Rachel had imagined in a daughter. Rachel knew she wanted to be her mom, just as much as Beth wanted that, too, so telling Puck her feelings was top on her list of things she wanted to do very soon.

When the timer on the oven went off, Rachel snapped out of her thoughts and carefully removed the cookies from the oven and set them on the stove to cool, making sure Beth stayed away so she wouldn't get burned. Once they had a chance to cool a few minutes, Rachel let Beth use a spatula to take them off the pans. A couple of the cookies broke apart when she did, so they set them aside and Rachel promised once Beth was done she could have a few pieces.

Once she finished her job, Beth sat down at the table, with a glass of milk and a few of the cookie pieces, snacking on them while Rachel washed the cookie sheets.

Deborah and Arin arrived home from their grocery shopping trip and both Rachel and Beth helped put their purchases away and then they all sat down for lunch.

"You guys did a great job on the cookies," Deborah smiled, having one after lunch.

"Thanks! We're taking some to daddy soon," Beth smiled.

"Is that alright?" Rachel asked as she began putting the cookies into a container, adding six of them into a smaller box to take to Puck.

"Of course that's alright. I'm sure he'll love the visit and snack," Deborah replied with a grin.

Rachel nodded and once she was done, she and Beth grabbed their jackets and headed out of the house and out to her car.

As they left, Arin walked into the kitchen and looked at her mom, "so how much longer until Rachel moves in here officially?"

Deborah laughed, "I don't know, but that is a great idea. She is a wonderful addition to our family. I'll bring it up to them soon."

...

Rachel pulled into the parking lot of the garage and once she and Beth got out, making sure they had the cookies, Rachel locked the doors and Beth took Rachel's hand as they began making their way into the customer area, seeing Puck at the counter talking to a couple with a little boy, younger than Rachel with curly red hair.

"Hey Beth!" The little boy exclaimed, running from his parents.

Beth let go of Rachel's hand and met the boy, "hi, Billy!" She exclaimed, hugging him.

Puck glanced up from the counter and saw Rachel and Beth, "hey! There's my girls! What are you two doing here?" He asked with a smile, moving around the counter.

"Me and Rachel made cookies and brought you some!" Beth said, pulling away from Billy's hug and moved to meet her dad.

"You did?" He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead.

"Yep! They're chocolate chip and so good!" She commented.

Puck smiled and nodded, "they sound good," he replied, pulling away to wrap his arms around Rachel, kissing her gently, "hey babe."

Rachel blushed, "hey," she smiled, "you have customers. We can wait," she murmured.

"They're not customers, well they are, but more like family," he added, pulling away.

"What?" Rachel turned to look at them and then saw the faces of the curly blond haired man and the red haired woman. "Mr. Schuester? Ms. Pills... Mrs. Schuester?" Rachel gasped, seeing the familiar people.

"Oh wow! Rachel!" Will smiled.

Emma gasped, "Rachel! It's so good to see you! Noah was just telling us about your return to Lima, but we didn't expect to see you so soon," she admitted, moving forward to give her a hug.

Rachel accepted the hug, "it's good to see you both, too! Noah told me you two got married after I left. Congratulations!" She explained as they pulled away, "but he didn't mention you guys having a child," she added hugging Will.

"Whoops," Puck laughed as he leaned against the counter.

As Will and Rachel pulled away, Will slipped his arms around his son's shoulders, "this is our son Billy. Billy, this is Rachel. She was a student at McKinley the same time Noah was."

Billy waved at her, "hi Rachel."

Rachel smiled, "hello Billy. How old are you?"

"Six. I'm a year younger than Beth," he replied, motioning to Beth.

"Very cool," Rachel smiled, "what school do you go to?"

"My school," Beth said, "he's in kindergarten. I'm in first grade."

Billy nodded, "and I'm gonna be a big brother soon!"

"You are?" Rachel asked, looking up at his parents.

Emma nodded, "we were just telling Noah that we found out I'm pregnant. Looks like I'll be due in June," she explained.

"That's wonderful news!" Rachel smiled, "congratulations!" She told them, moving to hug Emma again.

As the two pulled away, Will hugged her again, "thank you. We're excited."

"When do I get to be a big sister?" Beth asked, looking at her dad.

Puck cleared his throat nervously, "well, uh," he trailed off, looking at Rachel for help.

Though Rachel was embarrassed by the question, she looked at Beth, "Beth, remember when I said some things are hard for adults to talk about and are big decisions to make?" She asked and when Beth nodded, she continued, "this is one of those decisions."

"Oh," Beth pouted her lip a little, "okay," she sighed.

Puck looked at Rachel, a smile growing brightly on his face as she spoke to Beth and he realized Rachel was it and he knew he had something to do soon, "thanks," he murmured to her.

"No problem," she replied.

Will, Emma and Billy needed to get going, so after saying 'goodbye' and the Schuesters thanking Puck for the oil change, they left the office, leaving Beth, Rachel and Puck alone in there. "So you guys made cookies, huh?" He asked, picking up the box and opening it.

"We did," Beth nodded, "and I wanted to bring some to you."

Puck smiled as he took one out and bit into it, "they're perfect," he replied, wrapping his arms around his daughter, "thank you."

"You're welcome," she smiled brightly, "and we wanted to tell you we love you," she added.

Rachel gasped, her eyes widening at what Beth said and then bit her lip nervously, "_this isn't the place to be discussing this,_" she thought, trying to read her boyfriend's expression.

"I love you, too, kiddo," he replied, kissing Beth's cheek and then pulled away to look at Rachel, "you feel the same way?"

Nervously, Rachel nodded, "yes, I do. I love you," she admitted, smiling at him.

Puck wrapped his arms around her and kissed her gently on the lips, "I love you, too," he told her, loud enough so Beth could hear him.

Rachel relaxed in his arms and smiled brightly, "I'm glad you agree."

He looked at her, "babe, I've loved you since high school."

"Yes!" Beth exclaimed, clapping her hands together as she moved and wrapped her arms around their legs as they were hugging, "see! I knew it!"

"Yes you did," Rachel blushed, looking at Beth and then her eyes went back to Puck, surprised at what he said, but she felt the same way, "I've loved you since then, too."

"Really?" Puck asked.

Biting her lip, she nodded, "yeah. Of all the people I knew at McKinley, you were the only one I truly missed," she explained.

"I think we should talk tonight when we can kick back and relax," he murmured, kissing her lips again.

"I'd really like that," she murmured, slightly embarrassed that they just said 'I love you' for the first time in the middle of the garage, but extremely relieved that he felt the same way.

...

Rachel and Beth hung out at the shop for a little longer, spending some time with Puck while he wasn't busy and when Burt came back from lunch and a few customers showed up, the two left the guys to continue work, promising to see Puck when he got off.

Getting back to the house, Rachel plopped down on the couch next to Arin and grinned.

"What are you so happy about?" Arin smiled, seeing Beth going into the kitchen where Deborah was.

"Noah and I said 'I love you' to each other," she replied.

"You did?"

Rachel nodded, "yeah. Beth kind of brought it up, but we did and we both agreed we've loved each other in high school."

Arin giggled, "I knew that when I was ten. I'm not surprised."

"Really?" Rachel blushed even more, "you knew?"

"Yeah. I knew he felt that way about you and I knew you felt the same when I first met you, too," she explained. "You guys should just get married and quit beating around the bush; then I can have an awesome sister-in-law and Beth can have mother figure," she replied.

Rachel's eyes widened at her suggestion, but she didn't think it was crazy, she was just surprised that Arin said it, "really? You... We've been apart for seven years, though."

Arin rolled her eyes, "Rachel, you both have loved each other since high school and you two are perfect for each other. I know talking marriage is a big thing, but for you guys, not really. You've got the rest of your lives to make up for the lost time, but you'd already be official," she shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. I wish I could just skip over the dating part to get right to marriage or at least know when I date someone if they are 'the one' or not. Is Noah 'the one'?"

"Yes," Rachel nodded without hesitation, "he is."

"See," Arin smiled, "get to it."

"I'm afraid to mention that to him. I don't want him to get scared," Rachel admitted.

"He won't."

After a few moments, Rachel nodded, "alright I'll talk to him."

...

When Puck got home from work just after six, he was immediately greeted by Beth and after a quick shower and change of clothes, everyone sat down to dinner. After dinner, Arin went to a movie with some friends and Deborah went up to her room to relax and Beth found some toys in her room to play with, giving Rachel and Puck the downstairs completely to themselves. "Why do I have a feeling this was on purpose?" Puck asked with a grin.

Rachel blushed, "probably because I told your sister and Beth told your mom about what we said to each other today," she commented.

"Not quite how I pictured telling you that I loved you," he replied, pulling her into his lap.

Straddling his hips she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him gently, "it made it more real. There was no expectations, it just came out."

"Yeah, with Beth's help," he smirked.

"True, but we had just talked about it and," she paused and looked at him, "she wants us to get married so I can be her mom," she bit her lip.

Puck nodded and rested his hands on her hips, "I know she does. What do you want?" He asked, wanting her honest answer.

"I want that same thing," she told him, "and your sister seems to think we should just get married and be done with it because we've loved each other since high school. I know that would be rushed, but she is right. It's not like we're complete strangers, having never met before. We did know each other, but there is a big seven year gap between the last time we saw each other and now."

"Yeah, but the last few weeks have been amazing and you're," he smiled, brushing his hand through her hair, "you're all I've ever wanted in a wife," he admitted, "not only do you want to spend time with me, but you also want to include Beth. You don't want to push her away and avoid the fact that I have a daughter."

"I would never do that," Rachel assured him, "I love Beth."

"I know you do and that means the world to us," he replied.

She nodded, "I only have one concern," she commented softly and at his curious look she continued, "what about Quinn's family?"

"What about them?" Puck asked.

"You said that you keep in touch with her mom and she sees Beth once and a while. What is she going to think? Is she going to try to take Beth from us because she doesn't like that fact that you've found someone to marry and I'd be basically replacing Quinn?"

"I don't care what any of her family thinks about our relationship. I am legally her only parent, and there is nothing they could do or say that would make me change my mind about us. Her family will just have to get over the fact that you are in Beth's life and you'll be her mom."

Rachel smiled brightly, hugging him, "good, and I'll have a daughter then, too," she paused, getting serious again, "have you told Judy that you're dating someone?" She asked curiously.

"Yes. I haven't said who you were, but I told her I was dating someone from my past and that Beth loved them and I was really happy. She told me she was glad that I found someone who made me happy and that they got along with Beth, but that was it."

"Alright, I'm content with that," she replied, "I just don't want to cause problems."

"You won't," he assured her.

"Okay," she murmured, "I love you," she said softly before pressing her lips to his.

As they parted from the kiss, Puck smiled, brushing his hand along her cheek, "I love you, too," he promised and smirked, "you can stop eavesdropping Beth," he added, glancing towards the stairs where he saw his daughter sitting, peaking through the railing at them.

Rachel jumped up and blushed, shifting to sit next to Puck and then held out her hand, "come here, Beth," she said.

Beth came down the steps and walked into the living room, taking Rachel's hand. "Am I in trouble?" She asked, biting her lip.

"Not this time," Puck said, leaning forward to wrap his arms around her and pulled her up into his lap, "but you do know that you can't do that, right?"

She nodded, "yes I know, but I knew you and Rachel would talk and I wanted to hear."

"How much did you hear?" Rachel asked.

Beth smiled, "that you wanna be my mommy and you both wanna get married."

"Nothing is official yet, because I haven't proposed, but at least we know we both want the same thing," Puck told her, glancing at Rachel to see her nod in agreement.

"Proposed? What's that?" Beth asked.

"It's when I ask her if she wants to marry me," Puck explained.

She narrowed her eyes in confusion, "but you already know she does. Why do you have to ask again?"

"There are different stages to relationships. There are friends, then boyfriends and girlfriends, then a boy, or sometimes a girl, asks the other to marry them. That's the proposal. If they say 'yes', then they're engaged. After that happens, they plan the wedding and get married," Rachel explained, hoping that helped her understand.

"Oh! I see. So now daddy has to ask you to marry him?" She asked, then turned to her dad, "well, ask," she nudged him.

Puck laughed a little, "it's not that simple, sweetheart," he smirked, "usually when someone proposes they have a ring and they make a plan to have a special night to celebrate it," he explained.

Beth thought for a moment, "oh, okay. When are you?" She asked him.

He smirked, "I'm not telling you or Rachel. It's a surprise."

"Please?" She begged.

"Nope," he shook his head, "it's a surprise. I'm going to do it when you both least expect it," he said looking at Rachel and grinning.

Rachel smiled, "that is one surprise I'm willing to wait for," she replied, "so let's let your dad make that decision on his own and he can surprise us, okay?" She asked Beth.

Beth sighed, but nodded, "okay."

...

After Puck and Rachel tucked Beth into bed that night, the two turned in themselves, but spent a good portion of time celebrating their expressed feelings for the other, before drifting off to a content sleep; at least Rachel did. Puck's mind was running a mile a minute. He had a great idea for the proposal, but he only had a short time to get a ring and pull it off, but with a smile on his face, he drifted off to sleep knowing he'd be able to get it done.

...

Sunday morning, just a few days away from Thanksgiving, Puck got up and dressed in his work clothes, pretending that he was covering for Finn for the morning. He knew he shouldn't lie, but he knew that was the only way to get out of the house without anyone wanting to go with him, but he did talk his sister into helping him, by figuring out what size ring Rachel wore.

"Dude! What are you doing here?" Finn asked as Puck walked into the garage.

"I need you guys to cover for me," he commented, looking between Finn and Burt.

"Why?" Burt raised a curious eyebrow to him.

Puck unbuttoned his work shirt and took it off, "because saying I was going to work was the only way to get out of the house without Beth or Rachel wanting to know where I was going," he commented, "and I have a short time to do this and I wanna do it right."

"Do what exactly?" Finn stared at him.

"I want to propose to Rachel on Thanksgiving," he said simply.

Finn dropped the paperwork he had in his hand, "what? You guys just got together!"

"Yeah, but we both admit we've loved each other since high school and I don't wanna to wait forever to do this. Rachel's it for me, so I'm gonna propose. I want to call her dads today and go look for a ring, but I knew if I said I was going to go shopping Beth and Rachel would want to go, so I told them I was covering for you, Finn, for the morning," Puck explained.

"Um, okay, wow," Finn shook his head once he picked up the papers he'd dropped, "I'll call Santana and let her know so she's not calling Rachel and telling her I'm working," he murmured.

"Thank you. I'll talk to you guys later," Puck waved and left the garage, heading towards the local mall and as he parked, he pulled out his phone and looked for her dads' house number and hit the send button, hoping it wasn't too early to call.

"Hello?" Alan answered after just a few moments.

"Hey Alan, it's Noah," Puck started.

"Noah! Hi! How are you?" He asked.

"I'm great," Puck replied, "do you think I could talk to you and David on speakerphone?"

"Sure, hang on a second," Alan replied, moving into the den and hit the speaker button, "what's up, Noah?"

Puck cleared his throat, "Rachel and I told each other 'I love you' yesterday," he started.

"You did! That's wonderful," David smiled, "we've known for a while that she felt that way," he added.

"I've loved her since high school," Puck admitted, "and she agreed she felt the same, and," he paused, taking a deep breath, "I know we've only been together a few weeks, but she's the one. Beth loves her and she loves Beth and she's everything I've ever wanted in a partner and I... I really wanted to do this face to face, but since I don't know where you live and I couldn't ask Rachel without her wondering, I figured a phone call would be the next best thing."

David and Alan exchanged glances, both grinning as they listened to him speak, "yes, it could be. What are you asking, Noah?"

"I would like your guys' permission to ask Rachel to marry me, well, us, me and Beth," he said calmly, a smile on his face.

"I don't know Noah, that's a big decision," Alan said calmly, but was also grinning, trying to tease him. "Do you love our daughter?"

"I do," Puck nodded, "I'd say 'more than anything', but that isn't true. I love my daughter just as much," he clarified, "and I'm aware that it is a big decision, especially given that she'd also become a mom to Beth."

David nudged his husband, "stop making him nervous, Alan," David said, "Noah, don't mind Alan. He's just trying to make you uncomfortable. We could tell you two were already close when we saw you a few weeks ago," David explained.

"You could?" Puck asked, blushing lightly.

"Yes," Alan commented truthfully, "and we already discussed the possibility that you two would want to get married."

Puck smiled, relaxing a lot, knowing that they were already thinking that, "you have?"

"Yes, and as long as you promise to take care of our little girl, you have our blessing," David said.

"I promise you I will take care of Rachel as long as I can and do my best to never hurt her," he assured them.

"Then you have our blessing, Noah, and we appreciate you asking us," Alan told him with a smile.

"I wouldn't dream of asking her without your permission," Puck sighed in relief, "thank you."

"You're welcome, Noah. When do you plan to propose?"

"Thanksgiving," he replied. "You guys are stilling come over, right?"

"Of course we are," Alan laughed, "we told you that when you asked a few weeks ago."

"Good," Puck smiled, "I'm not sure who's going to be most surprised. Rachel, Beth or my mom," he admitted, "so you may want to bring extra tissues," he added.

The three fathers laughed at Puck's comment and then they calmed down to say their goodbyes and Puck relaxed in his seat for a long moment, taking a few deep breaths before he slid out of his car and walked into the mall, heading for the first jewelry store he came to. He knew the style he was looking for, but none of the rings stood out at him, so he moved onto the next store, glad that there were several in the mall.

The second store didn't have as many rings that he was looking for, so he moved onto the third and was drawn to several in their selection and as the sales guy pulled out the various rings he had pointed to, he picked up one with a simple white gold band and three diamonds together on the top. The center stone was slightly larger, but not by much and he smiled, "it's perfect," he told the sales guy, glancing at the tag hanging from it to see the size and smiled, "and in her size."

"Wow! You know her size; that's awesome! Most of the times guys don't," he replied.

Puck smirked, "yes, well, that's thanks to my sister. Turns out they wear the same size ring," he added.

"Still. You don't know how many women come in here to get their rings sized because their boyfriend didn't know," he told him.

"I bet," Puck agreed.

Paying for his purchase and thanking the guy for the help, he left the store with the ring tucked safely in his pocket, "_now, I hope I can hide this from everyone until Thursday,_" he thought, smirking as he made his way out of the mall.

...

A/N5: I updated... It's been a month since I last did. I bet you guys thought I fell off the face of the Earth! So sorry! It's been a rough couple of months. The ankle sprain I have... Well, it's in both ankles (one is from when I was 12) and my doctors told me there is nothing they can do for it. It's something that will continue to happen as long as I work in a job where I'm on my feet for long periods of time, so at the end of January, just after I posted updates to all my fic, I quit my job. Since then, I've been looking for a new job, with no luck, working on crafts (I'm turning my hobby into a business), and well, I've been having a rough time staying focused on any one thing, so it's taken me a lot longer than I wanted to update anything. I'm so sorry! I was able to update 'Broken Road' last week and finally finished writing the new chapter to this one. Then off to 'Out of the Blue' and 'Starlight'.

A/N6: I'm not 100% sure, but I think this story will be over in 3-5 chapters. I planned for this one and 'Broken Road' to be less than 10 chapters, and it looks like they will be, or close to 10. I'm so glad to have you all as readers and again, I'm so sorry it has been so long for an update.

...


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Returning Home, Part 6/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

A/N3: AU after 1x13 ~ Sectionals.

A/N4: Puck and Rachel were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

...

Puck really thought he would get caught in his 'lie', but he lucked out. He managed to get home and cover his rear, hiding the purchase from that day in his underwear drawer, knowing it only had to be a secret for a short time.

For the next three days, while Puck and Deborah worked their usual schedules and Beth and Arin were attending classes at school, Rachel spent time at her place. She didn't have any dance classes the week of Thanksgiving, so she got those days to clean and do laundry and other chores that she had been putting off since she'd been spending all her free time with the Puckermans and staying at their house at night.

...

Thanksgiving morning, once everyone was up and had eaten breakfast, Puck and Beth moved into the living room to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, while Rachel, Arin and Deborah began getting dinner going.

"Rachel, you don't have to help. You're welcome to go watch the parade with Noah and Beth," Deborah told her honestly.

"It's alright. I would like to help. It's... Dad and daddy have always done the preparations for Thanksgiving dinner, so it'd be fun to really help out this year," Rachel admitted.

"You're more than welcome to, Rachel, but I'm not going to make you," Deborah added.

"It's the least I could do for you guys being so accepting to me being here."

Arin smiled, "having you around is freakin' awesome. I want you here."

"We all want you around, so it is no trouble to have you here," Deborah told her truthfully.

Rachel blushed, "thanks. I really like it here. The last few days being at my place, during the daytime, was so boring and cold compared to here at night. Here there are so many things to do and it makes me feel so happy and comfortable... To be honest, it feels like home."

Deborah smiled, "Noah, could you come in here for a second?" She called.

"What? Did... Did I say something wrong?" Rachel asked, confused as to why she was calling Puck.

"You didn't say anything wrong," Deborah promised her and when Puck entered the kitchen with a curious look, she motioned to the table, "have a seat you two," she said.

"What's going on?" Puck asked.

Though confused and now a little worried, Rachel sat down next to Puck, both silently waiting for Deborah to continue.

"Rachel just admitted that being here gives her the feeling of being home," Deborah started.

"You did?" Puck turned to Rachel, "really?"

Blushing even more, she nodded, "yes, I do. My place seems so cold, but being here gives me all the feelings of home, that I've always wanted."

Puck smiled brightly, leaning towards her to press a kiss to her lips, "I'm really glad you feel that way."

Relief washed over Rachel as she kissed Puck and when they parted she smiled, "home is where the heart is, right?" She asked softly.

"Damn right, it is," he agreed.

"The reason why I called you in here, Noah, is because I've been thinking a lot over the past few weeks and," Deborah paused, glancing at Arin and then back to Puck and Rachel, "it really doesn't make any sense for you, Rachel, to have your 'place' a few streets over, yet you're never there, except to switch out clothes. We love you around here and you're already part of our family and though I've only spoken briefly to Arin about this and never said anything to Noah yet, but what do you think about Rachel moving in here officially?" Deborah asked with a smile.

Rachel gasped in shock, looking at Puck, who had an equally shocked expression, "mom? Arin? Really?" Puck asked, and at their nods, he turned to Rachel, who had tears in her eyes, "baby? What do you think?"

Still stunned at the offer, she took a deep breath, wiped her eyes and nodded, "I'd love that," she admitted, getting up and moving over to Deborah to hug her. "Thank you," she told her, fighting her tears.

"Oh, sweetheart, no thanks needed. You're a part of this family now and it only makes sense," Deborah smiled, "and call me 'mom'."

Rachel nodded, "but still, thank you, mom," she smiled, turning a little to hug Arin, "little sis."

"This is awesome!" Arin admitted, grinning brightly.

"Yes it is," Rachel agreed, pulling apart from her and turning to Puck, "well, it looks like I'm moving in," she told him.

Puck pulled her into his arms and kissed her lovingly, "it's about time," he murmured against her lips, lifting his hands to wipe her eyes, "no more back and forth nights," he added, "this is going to be great!"

She nodded in agreement and hugged him tightly, her head resting against his chest as she soaked in the new step they were taking, unable to hide the excitement, "oh wow... There's so much to do! I need to call my landlord and see about my lease. Oh! I need to figure out how to move all my furniture and..."

"I have one more idea," Deborah said, cutting Rachel's list off.

"What's that, mom?" Puck asked with a grin.

"Well, Noah, you've lived in your bedroom since your sister was born and to be honest, you've grown out of it. Actually you grew out of it when you started high school, but now that Rachel will be moving in and it's obvious that you two will be sharing a bed, it's even smaller for two."

Arin smirked, "they'd never sleep apart."

"Arin!" Deborah glared at her.

"What? It's the truth," Arin replied.

Deborah blushed lightly, turning back to Puck and Rachel, "I get when you graduated high school and since then, it's just been you in your room and you've done okay, but you're the only man in this house and it only makes sense for you to have a private bathroom. Also, you need more space. With Rachel moving in, you two would not last long in that small room, so I'm offering to switch rooms and this time, I'm not taking 'no' for an answer. You two will take the master bedroom. It has a lot more space for clothes, furniture and it does have a private bathroom, so you guys don't need to get dressed just to run across the hall in the middle of the night. Okay?" Deborah said, looking at them.

Puck thought for a few moments before he nodded, "yeah, I get it. You're right. We should have switched years ago, but I guess I never thought about it that way. Okay. We'll switch."

"Good," Deborah nodded, "now, with that settled, let's get going on dinner. We've got a lot to celebrate tonight," she said with a smile.

"Yes we do," Puck agreed, grinning at Rachel before moving to wrap his arms around his mom, "I love you, mom."

"I love you too, sweetheart," Deborah replied, kissing his cheek.

Hearing the commotion in the kitchen and curious what was being talked about, Beth got up and went to check it out, "what's going on?"

Rachel smiled at Beth, "guess what!"

"What?" Beth raised a curious eyebrow, an expression that made her look even more like her dad.

"I'm moving in," Rachel told her with a grin.

"You are?" Beth gasped, looking at her and then to her dad, aunt and grandma to see them nod, confirming what Rachel just told her. "That's awesome!" Beth exclaimed, moving over and throwing her arms around Rachel's waist.

Rachel hugged her, "yes it is," she agreed, feeling Puck slip his arms around her from behind.

"Welcome home," he murmured in her ear.

"Good to be home," she agreed.

...

For a long while, everyone remained in the kitchen, but as soon as noon chimed on the clock, Puck moved into the living room, ready to watch the first of several football games on TV that day.

"Daddy?" Beth asked, sitting next to him on the couch.

"Yeah, sweetheart?" He glanced at her.

"If grandma is your mom and Rachel is gonna be like my mommy, does that mean that her dads are going to be like my grandpas?" She asked curiously.

Surprised at her question, but knowing she was smarter than many kids her age, he thought hard about how he wanted to answer. "They could be," he nodded, "but do you know how it's a big decision for you to start calling Rachel 'mom'?" He asked and at her nod, he continued, "well, it's kind of the same thing. It's a big deal and sometimes, it's not easily decided," he explained, looking at her, hoping she got it.

"Okay," she nodded, "I don't have a grandpa, so I think it'd be cool to have two," she admitted.

Puck smiled and pulled her into his lap and hugged her, "you just might get them. You're an amazing girl and once they get to know you, I'm sure they'll love you," he smiled.

"Really?" Beth looked at him, smiling.

"Really," he nodded, kissing her cheek.

"Thanks, daddy. I love you," she shifted a little and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Puck returned her hug, "I love you, too, baby girl," he smiled, "I always will."

Rachel hadn't meant to eavesdrop on their conversation, but she had just gotten off the phone with her dads, giving them directions from her house to the Puckerman's and was coming into the living room to let them know they were on their way over, when she heard Puck and Beth's conversation. Waiting until they pulled apart, she made herself known, moving over to them on the couch and took a seat on Puck's other side, "hey," she she said softly.

"Hey babe," Puck turned a little and kissed her cheek.

She smiled, "my dads are on their way over from my house. They should be here in a few minutes," she explained. "I also heard your conversation," she added, looking at Beth and Puck.

"You did?" Beth asked, "do you think your dads will like me?" She asked curiously.

"Actually, I think they'll love you," Rachel admitted, "just like I do."

Beth smiled brightly, "really?"

"Yep," Rachel nodded and reached over a little, hugging her.

Though they were hugging, as soon as someone rang the doorbell, Beth pulled away, "I'll get it!" She exclaimed, jumping up and running to the door.

Puck and Rachel exchanged glances and got up, following her to the door, "Beth, let someone else answer the door," Puck said, "you don't know who is going to be on the other side."

The young girl rolled her eyes and pulled it open, "I know, daddy, but see! It's Rachel's dads," she motioned outside, "hi!"

"This time it is someone you know, but next time it might not be. Don't be running to answer the door unless someone is with you," Puck replied looking at Alan and David, "hey guys, come in," Puck added.

The two men stepped inside and Rachel closed the door, "hey dad, daddy!" Rachel smiled, hugging each of them, "did you find the place okay?"

"Yeah, we did. Your car was out front," Alan admitted, "so it was really easy," he added.

She grinned, "I hope so, because I'm moving in."

"You are? When did this happen?" David asked curiously.

"Earlier today. Deborah brought it up and I agreed," she admitted.

"Mom beat me to it," Puck said, hanging up their jackets in the hallway closet.

Alan nodded, "yes, true, but you would have talked to her about it anyway, right?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Puck agreed with a nod.

"Hey Beth, we have something for you," David said, holding out a Thanksgiving gift bag.

"You do?" Beth stepped forward and took the bag, "what is it?"

Alan laughed lightly, "open it and find out."

Beth grinned and pulled the tissue paper out that was covering the top and pulled out a large stuffed toy turkey, wearing a Pilgrim hat, with black and white striped wings, orange feet, a brown body and a brown and red tail fanned out behind him, "wow! This is so cool!" She exclaimed, hugging it to her, "thank you!" She moved to Alan, hugging him and then hugged David.

"You're welcome, kiddo. We thought you'd like it," David told her with a smile.

She nodded, "I love stuffed animals!"

Everyone smiled at Beth's comment and they moved into the kitchen so Alan and David could greet Arin and Deborah and soon the guys and Beth were in the living room watching the football game, while Rachel, Deborah and Arin continued to work on dinner.

Beth only lasted about thirty minutes into the game before she got bored, so she went up to her room with her new stuffed animal tucked under her arm and left the three dads in the living room and now the Berrys had a chance to talk to Puck.

"I take it you haven't asked," David said softly.

Puck shook his head, "no. After dinner," he replied, keeping his voice low.

"Are you nervous?" Alan asked.

"Yes," Puck nodded, "but not as much, now that I know she's moving in."

Alan glanced up to make sure Rachel wasn't in the room, "she'll say 'yes'," he told him.

"I hope so," Puck replied.

...

After David and Alan's arrival, time seemed to speed up and it wasn't long before dinner was ready and Deborah, Arin and Rachel were setting the table.

"I'll go get Beth," Puck said, getting up from the couch. Making his way upstairs, he moved down the hallway to her room, "hey sweetheart, dinner is ready," he said, peeking in and seeing she was coloring in one of her color books.

"Okay," she put her crayon down and stood up, moving towards the door, "I'm hungry."

"Me too," he agreed, "I'll be down in a second," he added, watching her walk towards the stairs. Once he was sure she was downstairs, Puck moved into his room and dug out the ring box he'd stashed in his drawer a few days prior and opened it, smiling at the ring. "_I can't wait to see her wearing this,_" he thought, closing the lid and pocketing the box. Knowing if he was gone too long, someone would come looking for him, he headed back downstairs and when he reached the dinning room, he found everyone seated at the table, with a spot between Rachel and Beth, so he slid into it, "Happy Thanksgiving, everyone," he said with a smile. "I have a lot to be thankful for this year," he added, looking at Rachel.

Rachel blushed, "me too," she agreed, leaning towards him to press a kiss to his lips.

Deborah, David and Alan exchanged glances, "would everyone like to do say something they're thankful for before we eat?" Deborah asked.

"I'm thankful we found Rachel," Beth smiled.

"Me too," Arin agreed, smiling across the table at Rachel.

Rachel ducked her head and blushed, wiping her eyes, "you guys are going to make me cry," she murmured.

"We're thankful to see our daughter so happy," David said.

"And to welcome new people into our family," Alan added.

"I agree with that. I'm thankful to see my son as happy as he is," Deborah replied.

Wiping her eyes again, Rachel smiled, "I'm really thankful to have found you all, too. This past month has been amazing and I know it's only going to get better the longer I'm here," she said, "I wouldn't change a thing about what has happened," she added.

"I would," Puck said calmly, a smirk on his face.

"What? You would? What would you change?" Rachel looked at him, confused.

Puck had wanted to wait until after dinner, figuring they'd have this conversation just before dessert, but as it turned out they had it before dinner, so he turned a little to Rachel and took her hand in his, "what I would change is how long it took for us to get back together. I should have never let you go when you left, or at least, I should have kept in touch with you. Sure, you can say that we were teenagers and it happens all the time, but I've loved you since high school, but I was too stubborn to admit it then. It's taken me a long time to find you and I'm not letting you go again," he paused, taking a deep breath and then stood up, pulling the box from his pocket and knelt down on one knee, "Rachel, I love you and I'm never letting you go again," he opened the box and showed her the white gold and three-stone diamond ring, "will you marry us?" He asked, glancing at Beth briefly, before returning his gaze to Rachel.

As soon as he'd started talking, Rachel's stomach filled with nervous butterflies. When he asked the simple, yet meaningful four-word question, she gasped and tears fell from her eyes, especially because he said 'us', as in him and Beth; not using the traditional 'me'. "Yes, I will!" She smiled brightly and nodded, seeing the sparkling ring staring up at her.

With a happy grin, he pulled the ring from the box and took her left hand, sliding it onto her finger and then pulled her into his arms, "I love you so much," he murmured.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close, "I love you, too. This is amazing," she pressed a kiss to his lips, but pulled back to look at the ring, "it's beautiful," she told him honestly. "I love it."

"I'm glad," he replied, "I saw it and knew right away it was the right one."

"It is," she agreed, turning to their family and seeing the smiles on her dads' faces, "did you guys know?"

"We may have known for a few days," Alan commented casually.

"I wanted their blessing," Puck explained, "thank you, guys," he said, moving towards them and holding out his hand.

"We're happy to have you as part of our family," David said shaking his hand, "and that goes for Beth, Arin and Deborah, too," he added, smiling at them.

"Really?" Beth asked, looking at them and then turned to her dad, "what did you just do? Was that a proposal?" She asked, remembering the conversation they had about it before.

"It was," Puck nodded, "it means that Rachel and I are engaged."

Rachel moved over to Beth and smiled, "it means that your daddy and I will get married soon and I can officially be your mom, if you want me to be," she told her.

"Of course I do," Beth replied, hugging Rachel.

"Me too," Rachel agreed, kissing her cheek.

"And Beth," Alan started, "that means we'll also be your grandpas, if you're interested."

Beth pulled from Rachel and smiled, "that'd be awesome!" She exclaimed, moving over and hugging the two men.

Puck smiled and looked at Rachel, then his mom and sister who were both smiling. Arin wore an 'I knew it!' smirk, while Deborah had tears in her eyes from the happiness of the situation. Deborah stood up and moved towards him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, "I love you, Noah."

"I love you, too, mom," Puck replied, kissing her cheek.

She smiled and turned to Rachel, "and if we're on the topic of being parents, as I said earlier, you're welcome to call me 'mom' and you're part of this family. I see you as a daughter, so this makes it all the more official," she explained.

Rachel felt like another part of her was filled in; she never missed a female figure in her life until she hit her teens and really started going through the womanly changes. Her dads were familiar with them, because they had moms and sisters, but they didn't experience it the same way, so all three Berrys were learning as they went along. She always wanted a mom or an older sister in her life that could help guide her through some of the mysterious steps a woman takes, and even though she was in her twenties, she knew she had plenty of growing to do and experiences coming up that she was extremely happy to have Deborah be there for her, "I'd love that, mom," she agreed, smiling brightly as she hugged her.

Deborah returned Rachel's smile and as they pulled away, Arin hugged Rachel, "welcome to the family, sis," Arin said.

"Thanks, sis," Rachel replied with a grin.

...

With the excitement that happened before dinner, the actual meal was full of happy conversations and compliments for the excellent food. Not only did they have the traditional Thanksgiving dishes, they also made some familiar Jewish dishes that they loved, but only made for special occasions.

Rachel couldn't help glancing at her ring; she felt like she was dreaming and at some point, she'd wake up and it would all be gone, but every time she looked at it and saw the diamonds sparkling back at her, she knew it all was real and that made her smile.

As dinner ended, everyone helped clean up the dishes and soon they were sitting down in the living room letting their meal settle, before they moved on to dessert.

"I have a question for you guys," David started.

"What's that, daddy?" Rachel asked.

"Do you all celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or both?"

"Well, we, as the Puckermans, only celebrate Hanukkah, but Beth and I go down to Columbus on Christmas Day to have dinner with Quinn's family," Puck explained.

"What kind of time off do you guys get at the holidays?" Alan asked, looking at Deborah and Puck.

"I usually only take a few days off, but if I ask for it, I've got plenty of leave to take," Deborah said.

"Why are you asking about time off?" Rachel questioned, confused.

The two men smiled, "well, we were kind of thinking about a family vacation, as in over the Christmas Break, while the girls are out of school," David said.

Rachel eyed them, "what kind of family vacation?"

"The character theme park in California," Alan smiled, trying not to say the actual name, in case they weren't interested in going.

"Really?" Puck's mouth fell open in shock, "we don't have a lot of..."

"We wouldn't expect you to pay. We have enough points built up for all of us to fly free and the same with our hotels, so aside from food and souvenirs, most everything else would be covered," David told them.

"And we were going to offer this before we found out that Noah was going to propose, so it has nothing to do with that, but we thought it'd be a great way to get a chance for us all to go have some family bonding time. It is short notice and we are hoping we could take a week or so, but if this break doesn't work, we could always do it another time," Alan added.

"I'm in," Arin said with a grin.

The room laughed lightly at her eagerness and David continued, "we know it's a big decision and a lot of things need to be scheduled soon if we want to go over the kids' Winter Break, but it can happen, if you three will be able to get the time off," he said, looking over at Puck, Deborah and Rachel, "and you don't have to answer now, but we are here for the weekend, so if you guys do decide you're up for the trip, we can start planning out details now," he added.

"I'd love to go," Rachel said, "and I think it'd would be fun for all of us to go as a family."

"Me too," Puck agreed, "I'll talk to Finn and Burt. I'm sure they'll be okay if I took some time off. I never do."

Deborah thought for a moment, "I think it's a great idea," she admitted, "if we can figure out when we'd like to go, I can request the time off tomorrow when I go to work. I've got plenty of leave, so I'm sure they won't hesitate giving me the time off," she explained.

Rachel grinned, "the dance studio is closed the two weeks of Winter Break, since most of our students are on school's break, too, and many of them are not in the area for the holidays, so I know I'll have the time off."

"Well, it looks like we're going to Disneyland," Puck commented, looking at Alan and David to see them nod in agreement.

"Disneyland?" Beth gasped, "we're going _there_?"

"Yes, it seems like it," Rachel said with a smile, "do you like that idea?"

She nodded, "it's an awesome idea!" She said, hopping up on the couch, "when are we going?" She asked.

"I think we're going to figure that out right now," Rachel commented.

...

After some time talking about when Beth and Arin were out of school for the break, they looked at a calendar and since Christmas and New Year's Day both fell on a Monday and Hanukkah started two weeks prior to Christmas, they decided to go between Christmas and New Year's Day, giving Beth an opportunity to see her other grandma on Christmas Day and they still had a week in California before they had to return, and be back by the second so Arin and Beth could get back to school.

Since they were still talking, Arin took Beth upstairs to help her get a bath and get ready for bed, so they were out of the room, leaving the adults there, still talking about plans.

"Okay, wait a second," Puck groaned, taking a swig of his beer. They'd been discussing the trip for a while and he had a great idea, but he hadn't had a chance to say it yet, "you guys keep making this sound like Beth and I, or Beth, Rachel and I have to go to Columbus on Christmas Day," he started.

"Well, you've done it every year, since she was a year old," Deborah said.

"I'm not saying we wouldn't go at all; we just wouldn't go on the actual day. Look," he took a deep breath and looked around, "if Hanukkah is over in the middle of the week and Friday is the last day of school, I think I have an idea," he said.

"What is it?" Rachel asked.

"Usually the last day of school is spent in parties and nothing much else and you guys live in Columbus, so I think, Arin and Beth should miss that day of school and we load our cars with what we're taking to California and Beth, Rachel, mom, Arin and I, drive down Friday. Then I'll make plans for Beth and I or, Rachel, Beth and I, to go to Judy's place to have a small gathering with Quinn's family, for their gift exchange and all that and then we fly out of Columbus on Saturday. That puts us in Cali before Christmas, we have at least a week to spend there and can get back before New Year's Eve. I really don't want to get back here the day before they go back to school," Puck explained, looking around to see what everyone thought of his idea.

"That's a really good idea," David agreed, "do you think Judy would be alright with making plans like that?"

Puck shrugged, "she just wants to see Beth at the holiday and if she knows it's because she's getting a chance to go to Disneyland on Christmas, I don't think she'll care and if she does, I don't give a shit. If we make plans, we're sticking to them and if she doesn't like it, then tough. She'll just have to deal with it," he commented.

"Noah!" Rachel snapped at him, "that's not nice."

He rolled his eyes, "look, I'm still pissed that they, as in Quinn's parents, tried to take Beth away when she was born. Judy needs to understand that I make the rules and she will never have my complete trust because of what they pulled. If Quinn's family wants to see Beth, then they'll have to deal with my terms. We are making plans, as a family, to go out-of-state for a week, so we can't just fly back here on Christmas Day to have dinner with her grandma, aunt, uncle and cousins. We can do that before we leave, or after we get back," Puck explained. "They know that Beth is being raised with the Jewish faith, but we respect Quinn's non-Jewish religion so she can share that part with Quinn's family and they also accept that Beth is being raised that way. Beth is also getting to an age where she can make her own decisions and she doesn't want to see Judy that much, either, so I'm respecting Beth's wishes, too. I'm not going to force my daughter to go see her grandma, just because Judy wants to see her."

"When you put it that way, it does make sense," David said, "Beth is at that age and if she doesn't want to see Judy, then you can't force her to."

Puck nodded, "exactly. I don't want to make her do something she doesn't want to do. I mean, she doesn't see her a lot, but has asked to see Beth around Christmas. We always went on Christmas Day because mom, Beth, Arin and I don't do anything special, but it's just a few days difference, so it's not going to be a big deal," he told them, "and like I said, if it is, they'll just have to deal with it," he added, wanting to get off that subject before Beth came back downstairs and heard them talking about that.

Rachel thought for a few moments, "alright. You are right, but I guess... I don't want Judy to blame me for the change in schedule," she murmured.

"She won't," Puck promised, "she may be a little shocked to find out I'm engaged after only starting to date someone, but when she actually meets you and has a chance to talk to you, she'll understand," he assured her. "Don't worry about this."

"Okay," Rachel nodded, leaning over to kiss him, "I still can't believe you proposed. I was so not expecting it," she said, looking at her ring again.

"Good, I didn't want you to," he replied, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close.

...

Agreeing on the dates that Puck suggested, Deborah promised to ask for the time off the next day, and Arin and Beth finally came back downstairs, both dressed in their pajamas. Beth was tired, so she said 'goodnight' to Deborah, Arin, Alan and David and Puck and Rachel headed upstairs to help tuck her into bed.

Rachel pulled the blankets back on Beth's bed, "alright, kiddo, crawl on in."

Beth climbed into bed and laid back, "will you sing to me tonight, Rachel?"

"Of course," Rachel laid the blankets around her as Puck tucked her favorite stuffed animal and the new one she just got from Alan and David next to her, then tucked her blankets around her as Rachel sat down, "the usual?" Rachel asked, feeling Puck sit down behind her on the bed.

"Yes please," Beth nodded.

Rachel sang 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' to Beth, and as she finished, she leaned over and kissed her forehead, "goodnight, Beth. Sweet dreams. I love you," she whispered to her.

Beth smiled, "love you, too, Rachel. Goodnight."

When Rachel stood up and moved to the door, Puck slid closer to Beth, leaning over to kiss her forehead and adjust one of her stuffed animals, "goodnight baby girl. I love you," he smiled.

"Love you, too, daddy," Beth replied, snuggling down in her blankets and pillows.

Puck got up and moved to the door, turning off the light and letting her nightlight fill the room, "see you in the morning."

"Okay," Beth said softly.

Reaching for the doorknob, he pulled the door closed, and he and Rachel headed downstairs to find her dads getting ready to leave, "leaving so soon?" Rachel asked.

"Well, we had an early day and the long drive up, so we're going to head back to your place and get ready for bed, too," Alan said.

"Oh, alright," she hugged both of them, "you're coming back tomorrow, right?"

"Of course," David told her, "we'll be over before Deborah goes to work."

Saying goodnight to to everyone, Alan and David left the Puckerman's and then Deborah got ready for bed herself, since she had to work the next day, leaving Puck, Rachel and Arin up.

"I think we'll head to bed, too," Puck commented.

"Yeah, okay. Some how I don't think you two will be sleeping," Arin smirked.

Rachel's cheeks warmed with a deep blush, but didn't really respond to that, "goodnight, Arin," she said, taking Puck's hand and led him to the stairs.

"Night!" Puck called out, letting Rachel guide him and once they reached their room, he closed the door and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him, "about time I can get you alone," he murmured.

Rachel kissed him deeply, "I know the feeling," she agreed. "We're engaged!" She exclaimed happily.

"We are," he nodded, guiding her to the bed, "you do not know how nervous I was to ask you, but then when mom asked you to move in and you agreed, it seemed so much easier; I guess because I knew you wanted to move in, so getting engaged was the next step," he told her honestly.

She brushed her hand across his cheek, "I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you," she replied.

"I love you, too," he said smiling, "wanna celebrate?"

Rachel grinned and nodded, "oh yes I do," she agreed.

...

**Beth's gift from Alan and David:**

Found at: ( stuffedark . com / turkeystar . htm?source=ssdf )

**Rachel's engagement ring:**

Found at: ( kay . com )

**You can see pictures of both on the post for this chapter on my LJ: ( sapphiresfic . livejournal . com / 45803 . html )**

...

A/N5: Yay! An update! I hope you guys enjoyed it. I promise it won't be as long before the next update. I'm still jobless and have been working on about six different stories, my four WIPs and two new ones, that will be posted after 'Returning Home' and 'Broken Road' have been completed. I do apologize for the lack of updates. I have gotten an update to 'Out of the Blue', 'Starlight' and 'Broken Road' out, so this is the last of four and hope to update again soon. Thanks for sticking with me in all this! Love you all!

A/N6: Happy Glee day! For those of you that live in the US, Glee returns tonight (4/19).

...


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Returning Home, Part 7/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

A/N3: AU after 1x13 ~ Sectionals.

A/N4: Puck and Rachel were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

**A/N5: You may want tissues. I cried while I was editing this.**

...

With an emotional Thanksgiving on Thursday, the rest of the long weekend they planned to spend celebrating Puck and Rachel's engagement and gathering details for the upcoming trip to Disneyland in California, along with Rachel's move and a baby shower for Santana.

On Friday, though Puck was off until Monday, he took a trip to the shop to talk to Burt and Finn. The guys congratulated him on the engagement and Finn immediately passed on the message to Kurt and Santana, who were both excited to hear the news and said they would stop over after their shopping trip to see Rachel and the ring.

Puck also talked to the guys about the plan for the family vacation. They were surprised he wanted to take time off, but they also understood that it was the first time since Beth was born that he'd taken time off to have a vacation, that didn't involve going to court or staying home because Beth was sick, so they were happy to let him have the time off.

...

Pulling up into the driveway, Puck noticed Santana's car was parked along the street, so he knew that she and Kurt were already there. As he made his way up to the front door, he began wondering what was going on inside, but his thoughts were interrupted when the front door opened and Beth jumped at him, "daddy, look!" She exclaimed.

"Hey, sweetheart," he smiled, catching her. "What are you wearing?" He asked, walking into the house and closing the door.

She grinned, "Uncle Kurt made it for me! Aunt Santana says it looks just like your jacket from high school."

Puck grinned, setting her down and getting her to turn for him, so he could see the back and front of the red jacket and the design, with the black 'M' in the right spot and her name 'Beth' on the other side, with 'McKinley Titans' on the back. "Wow, it's an exact match," he agreed, "did you thank him?" He asked Beth.

Beth nodded, "yes I did."

"Good," he smiled and guided her into the living room where Arin, Rachel, Kurt, Santana and Rachel's dads were scattered around the room, "hey everyone," he turned to Kurt, "thanks for this," he motioned to her jacket.

"You're welcome. I figured I'd go with something she might actually wear," Kurt smirked.

"I love it!" Beth smiled, holding the jacket closed around her, as if hugging it.

It was a little bigger than she was, the arms and the body hanging down a little more than it should, "something to grow into, but why don't you take that off and hang it up, so you don't mess it up? That's something for special occasions, kiddo."

Beth sighed, "do I have to?"

"Not right this second, but not much longer," he told her, sitting down on the couch and shaking Kurt's hand, "it's good to see you again."

"You too," Kurt smiled, "a lot has changed since I saw you last," he said, motioning over to Rachel, "first you meet up with Rachel in a pretty random event and then, less than a month later, you're engaged. You move fast Puckerman," he winked at him.

Puck blushed a little and looked over at Rachel, who was sitting in one of the recliners, "well, I'm not letting her go again, so I'm making sure that can't happen," he smiled.

Rachel blushed, matching the color of Beth's jacket, "I'm not leaving again," she promised.

"Okay, stop guys or I'm going to start crying," Santana commented softly, fanning her hands in front of her face, "sorry, but it's the hormones."

"It's okay," Puck replied, turning to look at Kurt, "so where did you get the idea for this?" He asked, motioning to Beth's Letterman's jacket.

"I got some material for some designs and it's the same the jackets are made out of and I just thought she'd want a jacket like her dad's," Kurt explained, "can I talk to you in private?"

"Sure," Puck nodded, "in the kitchen," getting up and heading in that direction. Kurt followed him, grabbing a bag on his way and when they got in there, Puck raised a curious eyebrow at him, "what's up?"

"Um, I have something else for her, but I wanted to, well, I couldn't help it. One of them I'm sure you you'll be okay with, but the other," he paused, setting the bag on the counter, "I wanted to make sure you were alright with it before I gave it to her," he admitted.

Puck narrowed his eyes in confusion at the gift bag, and then moved towards it, digging inside and pulled out a replica of his McKinley football jersey for Beth, "this is awesome, Kurt, she'll love it," he smiled, but as he dug out the other item, a Cheerios uniform in Beth's size, he stared at it, the red, black and white digging up memories from the past, "wow," he murmured, "it looks just like the real thing."

"It pretty much is," Kurt replied softly, "and I... Well, I made this all before you and Rachel got together, and now, I'm just not sure it's appropriate. I don't want Rachel to feel bad and if you think it's not something Beth should have, I won't give it to her. It's up to you," Kurt told him honestly, "I just thought that maybe she'd want something like what Quinn wore."

"Quinn will always be a part of Beth," Puck told him honestly, "but Beth never knew her. With you, you knew your mom for a few years of your life, so you have memories with her, but Beth doesn't have that. She only has pictures and knows what we've told her about Quinn, including that she was a Cheerio with Santana. I do think Beth will like this and Rachel won't be upset. She has no intention of erasing Quinn from our lives, and Beth knows that, but Beth has never had a real mom, and Rachel is giving her that."

Kurt nodded, "okay, yeah, you're right."

Puck put the items back in the bag and handed it to him, "I'm sure it'll be alright, but we won't know until you give them to her."

Kurt took the bag back and nodded, moving back into the living room and retook his seat. This time, Puck moved over and sat on the edge of Rachel's chair and slipped his arm around her back, kissing her forehead.

"Beth, I have something else for you, but I wanted to make sure your dad was okay with it," Kurt admitted. "When I made your jacket, I also made a couple of other things," he explained, handing her the bag.

Beth eyed him curiously and then moved to sit next to Kurt and took the bag, digging inside and pulling out the jersey, "it's like daddy's football jersey!" She grinned, holding it up proudly.

"That brings back some memories," Rachel commented with a smile, leaning against Puck.

"I bet," he winked at her.

"Noah," she blushed, laughing lightly.

Beth took her jacket off and slid on her jersey, also slightly larger than what she normally wore, but proudly left it on, looking at it while she wore it and then dug into the bag again and pulled out the Cheerios uniform, studying the outfit, "is this like what my mother and Aunt Santana wore?" She asked, looking at Kurt, then at Santana and her dad.

"It is," Santana nodded, "a long time ago," she said softly.

Rachel saw the outfit and immediately fell tears fall from her eyes, realizing that Beth would never get to know Quinn like she and the others knew her and felt horrible that Quinn wasn't around any longer.

Kurt saw Rachel wiping her eyes and biting her lip and he felt his stomach flip as he feared that Rachel was upset because of the outfit and motioned to Rachel, next to Puck, hoping he'd see.

Puck glanced at Rachel and saw her tears, "babe, what's wrong?" He asked quickly.

"It's, um, nothing," she shook her head, taking a deep breath and trying to calm down.

"It's something," Puck told her, "talk to us."

Gathering her thoughts, she sighed, "seeing that outfit just is like a big neon sign that Beth will never be able to know Quinn and it's not fair. Quinn will never get to see her daughter grow up."

Beth put the outfit back into the bag and glared at Kurt, "what about Rachel?" She snapped at him, "you forgot my mom!" She exclaimed, feeling horrible that Rachel was crying. "Quinn's not my mom! Why would you give that to me and not something like my mom's? And how could you let him? You know Rachel's my mom!" She added, turning her glare to her dad before kicking the bag, stomping her feet, her fists balling up at her sides and then stormed upstairs and moments later an echo of her bedroom door was heard.

All the adults in the room sat stunned for a moment, soaking in what had just happened. They all quickly knew that Beth had misunderstood the gift and why Rachel was upset, "I'm sorry, man," Puck said, getting up, "I'll go talk to her."

Kurt nodded, biting his lip, "it's okay. We didn't know," he admitted.

Everyone missed Quinn and though Santana had issues with Quinn, they were still best friends, so as Puck went upstairs, Rachel moved over to Santana, who was choking back a sob, and wrapped her arms around her.

"Rachel, I really didn't mean to leave you out or anything. I had just made these before you met Beth," Kurt told her, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, Kurt. They're awesome gifts and once Beth understands everything, I'm sure she'll agree," Rachel assured him, rubbing Santana's back, "I miss Quinn so much and I feel horrible that she's missing everything with Beth; it's no fair. I think at first she liked the gift, but when she saw that I was upset, she assumed it was because you hadn't given her something like what I wore in high school and I see Beth as my daughter and she sees me as her mom, so she was hurt, because I was and she's maybe also mad at her dad because he let you give it to her, which probably confused her, because he's been okay with us talking about her being my daughter and me her mom."

Though Santana was missing her best friend and still crying, she couldn't help chuckle a little, "did anyone else happen to notice the famous Rachel Berry tantrum?" She asked, looking up at them and wiping her eyes.

"I did," David replied, smirking, "we're quite familiar with that."

Rachel blushed, "I guess I'm already rubbing off on her."

"She was like that before you met her," Arin commented with a grin, "but recently I have wondered if she is part you."

"Maybe it's the Jewish genes," Alan added.

Rachel ducked her head and blushed, "maybe," she murmured.

...

When Puck walked down the hallway to Beth's room, he sighed and knocked on it a few times, "Beth, come on, open up. We need to talk," he said, trying not to get too stern with her, but he was really upset she'd had a little tantrum in front of everyone.

"Go away! I don't want to!" Beth yelled from her bed, where she had her arms wrapped around her favorite stuffed animal and was crying.

Puck sighed and though he wanted to go inside, he moved back downstairs after a few moments, "she won't talk and I don't know if I should force her to."

Rachel got up, "maybe she'll talk to me," she said softly, "if that's okay I try."

"Of course it is. You may be the only one to get through to her," Puck admitted, wrapping his arms around her in a hug as he got near her, "love you."

"I love you, too," she smiled at him, before pulling away, picking up the bag with the uniform in it and headed upstairs to Beth's room. Knocking lightly, she didn't expect a response, so she knocked again and this time she added, "Beth, sweetie, let's talk," she said softly.

After a few moments, the door opened and Beth peeked out, "it's just you, right?" She asked.

"It is," Rachel promised, "can I come in?"

Beth nodded and moved back over to her bed and hopped up on it, "but I don't want that," she said, motioning to the bag in her hand.

Rachel closed the door behind her and set the bag down on by the door, "I think you will once you hear why I got so upset," she said softly moving to sit on the bed next to her.

"Because Uncle Kurt gave me something like hers and not yours," Beth said.

"No, it's nothing like that," Rachel shook her head, "Kurt made this stuff," she motioned to the shirt she had on and the bag near the door, "way before I met you."

"Then why did you start crying when you saw it?" Beth asked confused.

"Because I realized you'll never get a chance to share any memories with your mom," she said softly.

"She's not my mom! You are!" Beth exclaimed, "or do you not want me anymore?"

"Oh Beth," Rachel pulled her into his arms, begging herself to keep from crying again, "of course I want you. I love you. You're my daughter, I promise you," she assured her, "but Quinn is always going to be a part of you and there is nothing wrong with having things that remind you of her, like what Kurt gave you. I think it's a great idea, because that's how most of us remember Quinn - walking around McKinley with her hair pulled back in a ponytail, in that uniform," she admitted.

Beth snuggled up to Rachel and relaxed, listening to what she said, "really?" She asked.

"Really," Rachel nodded, holding her close, "I want you to have this, Beth. I think it's a great way for you to share something with her."

"Why? I don't need her. I have you," Beth sighed.

Rachel kissed her forehead and smiled, "like I said, she's always going to be a part of you. You may not 'need' her to help you out with some things, but she did give you life, so she'll always be in my heart and your dads, because she gave us a beautiful daughter. I'm so proud of you and I know she is, too, but it's just not fair that she doesn't get to see you grow up. That's why I got upset. It had nothing to do with not having something like me for you to have," she added, "besides, I don't see why you'd need something to remind you of me, anyway," Rachel paused and at the confused look she smiled, "because I'm always going to be here for you."

Beth reached up and wrapped her arms around Rachel's neck and hugged her tightly, "I love you, Rachel," she told her as they pulled away, "and as long as you're okay with me having it, I guess I'll keep it," she added.

"I'm definitely okay with you keeping it," Rachel smiled at her, hugging her once more as a knocking interrupted them, "who is it?" Rachel called out.

"Me," Puck replied.

"I'm mad at him," Beth huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and sighing.

"Why?" Rachel asked.

"Because he told Uncle Kurt it was okay to give me the gifts. He upset you!"

"Noah, come in," Rachel said, then turned to Beth, "I'm not mad at him, so there is no reason why you should be."

Puck walked into Beth's room and heard Rachel, "am I in trouble?" He asked nervously.

"You made mom cry," Beth said, "you let Uncle Kurt give me that," she motioned to the bag still sitting by the door.

"I'm sorry," Puck told them, moving to kneel in front of both of them, "I had no idea it would upset either of you or I wouldn't have told him it was okay to, but I thought you'd want to have something like what Quinn wore."

"Yeah, I do, but only because Rachel explained why she was upset and that Uncle Kurt made that stuff before I met Rachel," Beth told him.

Puck nodded, "I'm so sorry to both of you," he said honestly, "I did not mean to make Rachel cry or make you mad. Am I forgiven?" He asked hopeful, looking at both of them.

"Of course you are, Noah," Rachel said, turning to look at Beth.

Beth bit her lip and after a moment's thought, she accepted his apology and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck, "you're forgiven," she smiled, "I love you, daddy."

"I love you, sweetheart," he held her close and kissed her cheek, then reached out and took Rachel's hand, "both of you."

Rachel slid off the bed and knelt down next to Puck, wrapping her arms around him and Beth, "and I love both of you, too."

The small family stayed wrapped up together for a few moments, before pulling apart and then Puck looked at Beth, "I think you should go talk to Kurt and tell him you're not upset with him anymore and maybe apologize to everyone for the little temper tantrum you threw earlier," he commented.

"Okay," Beth nodded, hugging Puck and Rachel again, before taking their hands and dragging them with her.

Puck and Rachel followed Beth back downstairs where everyone was still seated and Beth went right over to Kurt and sat next to him, "thanks for the jacket and clothes, Uncle Kurt. I'm sorry I got so upset, but mom and dad explained everything," she said truthfully.

"You're welcome and it's okay. No need to apologize for having feelings," Kurt wrapped his arms around her, "I'm sorry I made you upset, though," he told her.

"It's okay, you didn't mean to. I understand now," she said honestly.

"That's good," Kurt nodded, "I'll still figure out a way to make it up to you."

Beth giggled, "okay."

...

Finally getting an emotional moment settled, the large group in the house got onto several topics, including Rachel moving into the Puckerman's, Puck and Rachel getting married, a baby shower for Santana and the big trip to Disneyland. Kurt and Santana were both happy about Puck and Rachel's engagement and for their trip and Santana told Rachel that if she didn't think she'd have time to throw a baby shower for her, she totally understood, but Rachel insisted that she'd have plenty of time, planning to throw it before they went to Disneyland, so Santana promised she'd get Rachel a list of contact information for the people she wanted to have at the party.

When the wedding came up, Puck and Rachel admitted that they hadn't even talked about a date yet and were not even offering a possible time until they had a chance to look at a calendar. Both guests understood that and Santana also offered her husband's help moving Rachel, if they needed it, and Kurt offered his help with Rachel's wedding dress, the bridal party and the family, if they wanted it and they gladly agreed they'd talk to him about it first, once they'd come up with a plan.

Santana and Kurt had been there for several hours and as the day got later, Santana began to get tired, so the two said 'goodbye' and promised to be in touch. Kurt was leaving on Sunday, so he wasn't sure if he'd see them again before he left, but promised he'd be back in the middle of December for the holidays, so he'd see them soon.

...

"It was definitely interesting today," Puck commented, crawling into bed that night.

"Yes, it was, but I think things worked out well," Rachel replied.

"They did," he agreed, "and seeing you being all motherly to Beth was a huge turn on. You were even hotter," he told her truthfully, sliding closer to her in bed.

Rachel blushed, "really? Because part of me thought I was overstepping my boundaries a little, but the other part of me told me that even though we're not married, she's already my daughter."

"Yeah she is," he smirked, "that little tantrum today looked quite familiar."

"Santana noticed that, too," she admitted, ducking her head, "I'm sorry if I'm rubbing off on her."

"Don't be," he kissed her, "in all seriousness, you are her mom, no questions asked and I'm so happy that she's got you in her life. We don't need a marriage license to say that, either," he added.

"Good to know," she murmured, crawling onto of him, "but when we do get married," she bit her lip, "if it's okay with you, I'd like to adopt her officially."

He slipped his arms around her tightly and nodded, "it's way more than okay with me," he replied, hugging her tightly, "you are the only woman I'd ever let do that," he added truthfully.

"Really?" She asked.

"Really. I trust you with my daughter, Rachel, and I don't give that very easily," he told her, kissing her gently.

Rachel smiled, her heart racing at what he was saying, "I promise I won't let you down," she assured him.

"I know," he smiled.

...

Saturday and Sunday, though they planned to make trip arrangements and relax, turned into room switching weekend for Puck and Deborah. Since Rachel's dads were there, Deborah wanted to get her and Puck's rooms swapped, so Rachel could start moving her things in as soon as she had time to get started packing. Starting out making a quick trip to pick up some storage boxes, they began packing up all the loose items in their rooms, piling them all up in the living room and by Saturday night all their furniture had been moved into the new room, leaving Sunday to just organize their new rooms and put their belongings away. Puck didn't unpack a lot of the extra things; only the things he used on a daily basis, because he knew it wouldn't be long before the room will fill up more with Rachel's things, so he wanted to leave her some space and give them a chance, as a couple, to decorate their room together.

Sunday evening, after dinner, Rachel's dads left and returned to Columbus, promising to make solid arrangements for the dates they'd all agreed on and would let them know when things had been settled.

When Monday morning arrived, life got back to mostly normal, with everyone returning to work and school after a long weekend. During the week, though it was much like it had been, instead of sitting around the house relaxing at night, Puck and Rachel would take some of the empty storage containers they had from switching Deborah and Puck's rooms and go to Rachel's place, packing them up with clothes and belongings and taking back to the Puckerman's and piling them up in their room, planning to spend the weekend unpacking them and moving more things from her place.

Friday night, when Puck got home from the shop, he broke the news that he'd have to work Saturday, and maybe Sunday to cover for Burt, who had come down with the flu. He felt bad that he wouldn't be able to help out like planned, but Rachel assured him it was okay and she understood he had to take care of work, too.

...

Sitting on the floor in her and Puck's room, Rachel had piles of boxes and clothes of all kinds scattered around and was sorting things out, while Beth occupied herself on the bed, coloring in one of her books.

"Hey, Arin and I are going to run to the store. Would either of you like to go?" Deborah asked, standing in the doorway.

Rachel jumped a little, having been lost in her own thoughts for a moment, but turned to Deborah, "no, I'll stay. I'd like to get a lot of my clothes hung up before Noah gets home tonight," she admitted.

"Okay, that's understandable. If you need more hangers, I have some extra ones in my closet that you're welcome to have," Deborah told her, turning to Beth, "Beth, you want to go with us?"

Beth thought for a moment, "no, I wanna stay here with Rachel," she replied.

"Is that okay?" Deborah looked at Rachel.

"Of course," Rachel nodded, smiling at Beth.

"Okay, have fun you two," the grandma laughed lightly, "do you need anything at the store?"

"No, I think I'm good," Rachel admitted, "thanks for the offer, though."

"You're welcome. We won't be gone too long, but we're going to pick up some things we're out of," she replied.

"Okay. No hurry. We'll be fine here," Rachel assured her.

Deborah nodded and left the room and after a few moments the front door shut, telling them that they had left, so Rachel went back to what she had been doing and about twenty minutes later, she had everything sorted and stood up, "hey Beth, do you want to help me hang these things up?"

"Sure!" Beth sat up, jumped off the bed and went over to Rachel.

"Okay, my clothes are already on hangers from my closet, so you just need me to hand me the hanger and I'll hang them up," Rachel told her.

"Okay," Beth nodded and went to the first stack Rachel pointed to and picked up a few and went back to Rachel.

For the next little while, Beth picked up the items Rachel told her to and brought them over and Rachel hung them up in the closet, organizing as she went, happy to have the help, so she didn't have to keep going back and forth to the closet.

"Where do you wear this?" Beth asked, holding up a black robe that was completely see-through.

Rachel's eyes widened when she saw what Beth was holding up, having forgotten she'd had that in one of the piles, "um, that's, well," she blushed, "it's not something I'd wear out, actually. It usually goes over pajamas."

"Oh okay, because that's a weird shirt," Beth commented, gathering up a stack of clothes and moved over to Rachel.

"It's an over-shirt," Rachel replied, "_thankfully she didn't ask anymore, because I just don't know what I would have said,_" she thought, "_well, it is my own fault. I shouldn't have had that in my clothes. That should still be in my dresser at my place._"

...

As the last pile of clothes had been hung up in her closet, Rachel looked around, "well, that at least looks a bit cleaner," she commented, knowing it still was extremely messy.

Beth looked around the room and laughed, "the last time my room looked this messy, daddy made me clean it up," she admitted.

Rachel smirked, "yes, but since I'm moving in and we don't know where everything is going to go," she moved over and pushed a few boxes out of the way to get over to the door, "I'm sure he'll be okay if things are a bit messy for now. We still have a lot of my stuff to move over," she added.

"I'm so glad you're moving in!" Beth said, moving towards her and hugging her.

"Me too," Rachel replied, kissing her forehead as they hugged, "you know, all this work as made me hungry. How about we go get a snack?" Rachel suggested.

"But isn't dinner in a few hours?" Beth asked.

"Sure, but if we have a little healthy snack it'll be okay," Rachel promised.

"Okay!" Beth grinned and took Rachel's hand, guiding her out of the room and towards the stairs.

Heading down to the kitchen, Beth took a seat at the table and Rachel dug out an apple and a chunk of cheese and after cutting up the food, she piled it onto a plate and got a box of juice for each of them and took a seat next to Beth, "I think we can share," she admitted.

Beth nodded, "we can."

"Thanks for helping me," Rachel said with a smile, opening the juice boxes and handing one to her.

"Yo-u're 'el-come," Beth replied with a piece of apple in her mouth, so it came out garbled.

Rachel laughed lightly, "don't talk with your mouth full," she warned.

Chewing and swallowing the apple, Beth took a drink of her juice and then smiled, "you're welcome."

"That's better," Rachel smiled.

Snacking on the things Rachel had give them, once they were finished, Beth got up to put the plate in the sink, just as the doorbell rang, so Rachel got up and moved to the front door, seeing the shape of a person in the side window. Pulling open the door, she stood face-to-face with an older blond woman, dressed in a matching skirt and jacket, pearls and heavy make-up, "hello. Can I help you?" Rachel asked.

The woman stared at her, "who are you?" She snapped harshly.

Rachel stared at her, "excuse me? You're visiting this house, so maybe you should be the one to explain yourself first," she replied, trying to keep her voice low.

Taking a deep breath the woman held her head up, "I'm here to visit my granddaughter Elizabeth Quinn and her father," she retorted.

"You must be Judy Fabray," Rachel said moving aside and turning to see Beth nearby.

"Grandma Judy, what are you doing here?" Beth asked, walking forward.

"Well, I came to see my granddaughter," she smiled, stepping inside and wrapping her arms around her in a hug.

Beth accepted the hug, but kept it short, pulling away, "it's nice to see you."

Judy pulled away from Beth, "where's your dad, grandma or aunt?"

"Daddy is at work. Burt is suck so he's helping Uncle Finn and Grandma and Aunt Arin are at the store," Beth explained, moving into the living room.

"Oh, well," Judy pulled her wallet from her purse, "you must be the babysitter. I can watch her until they get back. There's no need for you to stay any longer. How much are they paying you?" Judy asked Rachel.

Rachel shook her head, "I'm not a babysitter," she replied, closing the front door.

"You're not? Then why are you here?" Judy asked, confused. "Are you one of Arin's friends?"

"Arin and I are friends, but that's not why I'm here," Rachel told her.

Beth heard the confusing conversation and moved back to them, "Rachel and daddy are getting married. She's my mom," Beth said, taking Rachel's hand.

Judy gasped, "she is most certainly not your mom!" Judy snapped at Beth, glaring at Rachel, "you are not her mother! My daughter is her mother," Judy exclaimed, reaching for Beth's other hand and pulled her away from Rachel.

"Ow! Grandma, that hurts!" Beth exclaimed, pulling her hand free from her grasp and running to hide behind Rachel.

"I think you need to leave," Rachel said calmly, motioning to the door.

"I will not! You are the one who needs to leave. You have brainwashed my granddaughter and her father long enough! Go back to the corner he found you on," Judy hissed.

"For your information, _Judy_, Noah and I have known each other for over eight years and I was one of the first people to find out that Quinn was pregnant, and unlike you, I did not turn my back on her like _you_ did. Now get out of this house. I will not allow you to come into this house, call me derogatory names and treat Beth like a mere rag doll. If you do not leave this instant, I will call the police and have you removed from the property until her father or grandmother get home and can have a discussion with _you_," Rachel snapped, protectively wrapping her arm around Beth.

Judy's eyes were full of fire, but with her head held high, she turned on her heel and stepped towards the door, glancing back once more, "I'll be back," she said firmly.

Rachel watched her open the door and step outside, walking towards the sidewalk where her car was parked. As soon as the silver Malibu pulled away from the curb, Rachel stepped forward, closed the door and took a deep breath, turning around to see Beth with tears in her eyes, "oh sweetie, come here," Rachel knelt down and wrapped her arms around Beth, "it's okay, you're safe," she murmured.

Beth started sobbing, scared from what Judy had just done and sunk into her mom's arms to cry, knowing Rachel would protect her, "you're my mommy," she sobbed.

"You're my daughter," Rachel promised, rubbing her back, "and nothing is going to change that."

"Okay," Beth nodded, continuing to cry against Rachel's shoulder.

...

A/N6: I want to be clear that I do NOT condone child abuse of any kind, under any circumstances and I promise it will be taken care of in the following chapter. This was getting longer than my normal chapter length, so this seemed to be an okay spot to stop, even if it is a bit of a cliffhanger. I do already have the next chapter written, so I won't keep it from you for too long. I am sorry for the long gap between updates. I thought I would have done this sooner, but I've been playing catch up with another fic and dealing with some things in my regular life, so time just got away from me. Hopefully I'm back now.

...


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Returning Home, Part 8/?  
Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.  
A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.  
A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

A/N3: AU after 1x13 ~ Sectionals.  
A/N4: Puck and Rachel were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

...

Kneeling on the floor by the door, Rachel held Beth and let her cry, rubbing her back and trying calm them both down. She knew Judy had scared Beth and Rachel's mind was flooded with rage towards Judy and concern for Beth, but she also knew she needed to let Puck know what happened; she had a feeling Judy would show up at the shop, "Beth, I need to go call your dad, because I think she's going to go see him at work."

Beth lifted her head from Rachel's shoulder nodded, rubbing her eyes, "ask him to come home. I want him to come home."

"I will," Rachel promised, "I want him to come home, too," she added, standing up and guiding them towards the kitchen where the cordless phone was set up. Grabbing it and calling his cell, she sighed when he didn't answer, but glancing at the numbers on the wall, she found the shop's and dialed it quickly, hoping for an answer.

"Good afternoon, this is Finn, how can I help you?" Finn asked politely.

"Finn! It's Rachel. Judy just showed up here, scared the crap out of me and Beth and left, and I think she's on her way to the garage. I just called Noah's phone, but he's not answering and I need to warn him."

"Rachel, just calm down. Who showed up?" Finn asked worriedly.

"Quinn's mom!" She snapped in frustration.

"Oh shit, hang on, let me go get him," Finn promised, glad he was in the office to answer the phone. Jumping up, he ran into the garage, "Puck! Rachel's on the phone, you need to go talk to her, like now!" Finn exclaimed, grabbing the tools from Puck's hand.

"What's going on?" Puck asked quickly.

"Judy showed up, then left and Rachel think she's on the way here. Go talk to her. I answered the office phone," he told him.

"Fuck!" Puck hissed and made a beeline for the office, practically knocking over one of the guys stocking the shelves. Going into the office, he closed the door and grabbed the phone, "Rachel? What's going on? Are you guys okay?" His stomach twisting in knots.

Hearing his voice, Rachel sighed in relief, already feeling better, and nodded, "yeah, I... I think we're okay, but she scared us pretty bad."

"What happened?" Puck asked, taking a seat at the desk.

"Your mom and sister went out shopping about an hour ago, so it's just me and Beth here. Judy came over wanting to see Beth. When I answered the door, she was shocked, because obviously she didn't recognize me and when she said she was here to see Beth, I realized who she was. Beth kind of greeted her and as she came inside, Judy thought I was a babysitter, so she said she'd pay me whatever you guys owed me for the day. Beth told her I wasn't a sitter, that you and I were getting married and I was her mom and I think that's what set Judy off. Beth was holding my hand and Judy grabbed Beth's other hand and pulled her away from me, which hurt Beth. Judy told Beth that I wasn't her mom and that I needed to leave; that I was brainwashing you guys. She called me a 'tramp' and said I needed to go back to the corner you found me on," Rachel explained, taking a deep breath as anger began to build up again, "I told her that I was not leaving, explained how love we've known each and I, as calmly as I could, told her I wasn't going to let her stay, call me names and treat Beth like a toy. I said if she didn't leave, I was going to call the cops and have her removed until she could talk to you or Deborah. She did leave, but said she'd be back, so I'm guessing she's on her way to the garage to see you," Rachel finished, exhaling as she leaned against the wall.

Puck's blood was boiling at what he heard, "is Beth okay? Are you okay? Where is Beth now? Is my mom and sister back yet?"

"I... I think I'm fine. Beth is right here and she wants you to come home. No, your mom and sister are not back yet, but they should be any time," Rachel said softly.

"Is she hurt? You said Judy hurt her," he said quickly.

"No, she's not that kind of hurt. Judy grabbed her hand and I looked at it while I was waiting for you to pick up and she's okay. I think just the pain of her grabbing her forcefully is what made her say it hurt," she explained. "Noah, I'm so sorry. I feel terrible. I didn't know what to do and I just wanted to protect her from Judy, because she kept getting madder and I didn't know what to say and we've never really talked about..."

"Rachel, you did everything right, so you have nothing to be sorry about. We'll get this straightened out, I promise," he said, glancing up to see Judy walking into the waiting area, "put Beth on, please."

"Okay," Rachel handed the phone to her, "he wants to talk to you."

Beth took the phone from her and put it to her ear, "daddy? Are you coming home?"

"I am, sweetheart. I'll be home as soon as I can. I love you so much," he said, looking to see Finn walking towards the office.

"I love you, too, daddy. I don't ever wanna see Grandma Judy again," Beth replied.

Puck took a deep breath, "are you sure?"

"Yes," Beth nodded, "I don't like her anymore."

"Okay," Puck rubbed his forehead, "I have to go, but let me talk to Rachel again, okay?" He requested and after a moment Rachel picked up again, "Judy just got here. I'm going to talk to her and be home as soon as I can. Just stay calm and you did everything right, baby, so don't worry. Tell my mom what happened and I'll be home soon, okay?"

"Okay," Rachel nodded, trying to relax, "I'll tell her and I'm trying to calm down. Hearing your voice helps. I'll see you when you get home. I love you."

"I love you, too," he smiled, "see ya," he murmured, then pulled the phone away from his ear and hung it up, motioning for Finn to come in and as he did, Puck took a deep breath, "close the door."

Finn did as Puck asked and closed it, "what's going on?"

"Judy Fabray is about to learn you don't mess with my family and get away with it. I have half a mind to have a restraining order put against her," Puck said calmly.

"Oh no," Finn groaned, plopping down in the chair. "Go talk to her, I'll call someone else in. You need to go home."

Puck nodded, "yeah. I need to talk to her, but I want a witness," he added.

"Got it," Finn nodded. "I've got your back, bro, you know that."

Getting up, Puck moved to the door and pulled it open, stepping out into the waiting area and knew Finn was right behind him. Thankfully there were no customers in there at the moment, so he walked behind the counter and leaned against it, "Judy Fabray, so you go to my place, scare the crap out of and touch my daughter and harass my fiancée? What else do you have planned?" He snapped.

"I take it you heard?" She asked quickly.

"Damn right I heard! What the hell where you thinking? You grabbed Beth and pulled her away from Rachel! Now Beth doesn't even want to see you again and is telling me she doesn't like you anymore!" He exclaimed.

Judy jumped at his voice and took a deep breath, "well, I... She's... She's only seven. She doesn't know what she's thinking. I'm only looking out for what's best for her. Where did you find that thing, anyway? She is not Elizabeth Quinn's mother. She never will be! You may be able to erase my daughter's memory, but I will not allow you to replace her with that tramp!"

"Don't you fucking call my fiancée that! She has never been, nor will she ever be anything like that! You're right, she isn't Beth's mother. Quinn is Beth's mother, but my fiancée is Beth's mom. They are two different things, something you don't seem to know anything about! Oh, and here's a news flash: Quinn's dead and has been for seven-and-a-half years! She's not coming back! You may want to live in this dream world where I'll go on as this lonely guy with my one daughter, pining away for her dead mother, but you're sadly mistaken! It's time for me and my daughter to move on and we are doing just that. We're not replacing Quinn, but Beth deserves to have a mom and Rachel is giving her that. She's doing an awesome job at it, might I add, so I suggest you change your mind really quick or this will be the last time you speak to or see any of us again," he told her sternly, trying to remain as calm as he could, but still managed to get his point across.

"You can't do that! She's my granddaughter. I have a right to see her!" Judy exclaimed.

"Were you sitting in the same court room as I was? If I remember correctly, which I do, Judge Sanders said you had no rights to Beth and would never have them. I have full custody of her, which means that I control when and if you see her and that all ends now. Beth doesn't want to see you, so I'm respecting my daughter's wishes and you should, too."

Judy's shoulder's slumped, "she doesn't want to see me?" She asked softly.

Puck could see her stern demeanor fading and inwardly smiled as he remained calm, "no she doesn't and after what you did and said to her today, I don't blame her."

"I just... This girl... Does she... She said she's known you since high school."

"Yes, since Quinn was pregnant with Beth," Puck nodded, "and she moved away before Beth was born and only recently came back into our lives, but the last month has been the most amazing month. Beth loves her and so do I, so I proposed and we are going to get married. I had hoped to sit down and email all of this to you, to explain, because you've never stopped by unannounced before, but since you did, it came to this."

Judy had been standing several feet away from the counter Puck and Finn were behind, but she stepped forward when she could tell he was calming down, "well, I was in town visiting a friend. I was going to call, but since you guys are always home on Saturdays, I thought I'd just stop in," she admitted, calming down a little herself, "and then to be faced with... I just lost it."

"Obviously," Puck shook his head, "you really screwed up, Judy."

"Well, if I could just apologize to them, we could straighten things out," she offered.

"That's not happening anytime soon. You lost your chance," he replied, "you grabbed my daughter. I don't even want you near her," he told her truthfully.

"I didn't mean to, but it was just a reaction. She... She needs to know that..."

"Beth knows that Quinn will always be her mother and be part of her, but Quinn is not here and she never will be. My daughter deserves to have a mom in her life, and Rachel is going to be that. I'm well aware that this is a shock to you, but you had to have known that one day I would find someone to spend the rest of my life with, who loves Beth as their own. Rachel does and I know it's genuine. They love each other and that's good enough for me. I hope you can respect that and know that I have always and will always do what's right for daughter and I wouldn't just jump into a relationship so quickly like this, if I didn't know it was the right thing. It's time for all of us to start a new chapter in our lives, Judy, so please, after what happened today, you've got to give Beth some space. You've scared her big time and that's not going to change anytime soon. I think it's best if you stay away for a while and let her be the one to want to see you again," Puck explained, looking at her.

Judy truthfully listened to what he said and the realization of what she'd done had really hit her, "yes, you're right. What I did was inexcusable. I... Would you... Would you please tell her that I'm sorry?"

"I will," he nodded, "and I'll still email you every once and a while, but that's where it needs to stay for now," he added.

"I understand," Judy said, wiping her eyes, "I really hope that this Rachel girl makes you both happy and maybe one day I can meet her again and we could start over," she offered, taking a deep breath, "I think I've always known that you'd find someone, but to be faced with it, just shocked me. The last I had heard you were dating someone from your past," she admitted.

"I know and I'm sorry my emails have been limited, but I've been spending time with my family. I will be better with that now," he promised.

"Okay," she nodded, "well, just tell them I'm sorry and that I love Elizabeth Quinn."

"You know, continually calling Beth by her full name, because her middle name is Quinn, is really making me regret doing that. It's not going to bring Quinn back," Puck commented, "she likes to be called 'Beth' and I will tell them what you said."

"Thank you," she nodded, "and I'm sorry to have bothered you at work. I'll go now," she said.

"I'll email you," he said, watching her turn and walk towards the door, pushing it open and leaving. "Thank God," he groaned once she was outside.

"Dude, you did awesome," Finn said, patting him on the shoulder.

"Thanks," Puck said, "now are you sure you'll be able to cover so I can go home?"

"Yes," Finn nodded, "I'll call in a couple of the guys to cover and don't think about coming in tomorrow. You need to spend time with you family. I'll tell Burt what happened and I know he'll agree, so go," Finn said honestly, motioning to the door.

Puck nodded his thanks and moved to wash his hands and arms to get the oil and grease off of them and then collected his things and headed out to his SUV, driving home as quick as he could, without going over the speed limit. Pulling into the driveway, he got out and jogged towards the front door and as he pushed it open, Beth was right there, so he dropped to his knees and pulled her into a tight hug, "hey there baby girl. I'm here. Everything is alright," he promised.

"Daddy, I don't like her anymore. I don't want to see her. She scared me," Beth choked out through sobs.

"You don't have to see her anymore," he told her, "she's not coming back and I'm not going to make you see her," he added, standing up with her still in his arms, "she is sorry for what she did, but I told her she couldn't see you and that's how it's going to stay until you change your mind."

"Okay, but I never want to see her again," she said, wiping her eyes.

"Then you don't have to," he replied with a nod, kissing her cheek, "I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do, kiddo. I promise," he smiled, "I love you," he said, reaching up to wipe her tears.

"I love you, too, daddy," she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

Puck smiled and relaxed, then moved a little further into the living room where Rachel was standing, watching them. He took his free arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, "I took care of things," he promised, feeling her body shake and knew she was crying, too. "It's okay," he murmured, "everything is alright. We're okay," he promised.

Rachel clung to him and cried, but as he spoke, she started to calm down, "are you sure?" She asked skeptically.

"I'm sure," he nodded, staring into her eyes, "everything is going to be okay," he assured her, carefully putting Beth back down, "I promise. I wouldn't lie to you guys," he added.

"I know," Beth said, hugging him again.

Puck smiled and returned her hug, then looked around, "so I was thinking maybe we could all go out to dinner as a family tonight," he suggested.

"I think that's a great idea," Deborah replied, smiling at him.

"Yeah!" Beth nodded in agreement, "can we go to Breadsticks?"

"We sure can," Puck nodded, "I'm going to go change and wash up and then we can go," he said.

"Okay!" Beth smiled and skipped happily into the living room to continue watching TV like she had been before he got back.

Puck smiled and kissed Rachel, "I'll be back."

"Actually I'll go with you. I need to change, too," she admitted, "Beth, don't you have your crayons and coloring book on our bed, too?" She asked.

"Oh yeah!" Beth nodded, getting up and heading up the stairs.

Puck and Rachel followed her upstairs and into their room and she quickly cleaned up her crayons and grabbed her book, "wow, this place looks like a tornado hit it," he laughed lightly.

"I told you he wouldn't like the mess," Beth laughed, looking at Rachel.

Rachel blushed, "it's a work-in-progress," she promised.

"I'll let the mess slide for now, but hopefully we can get things moved soon," he said.

"I promise it'll get more organized soon," she assured him, then looked at Beth, "but you were right."

"See!" Beth grinned and moved over to the door.

Puck smirked, "shut the door on your way out," he called.

Beth closed the door as she walked out of the room and as soon as the door latched shut, Rachel sagged against him. Taking a few deep breaths to calm down, "oh Noah," Rachel murmured.

"It's okay," he rubbed her back, "you did great, baby. Everything is going to be fine."

Rachel took a deep breath and nodded, "I know, but it was just so scary. I just wanted to protect Beth from her and the things she said about me... She doesn't even know me!"

"You're right. She doesn't and she was pissed," he nodded, kissing her gently, "you did protect Beth and that's what is important. Beth is okay and so are you and everything else is settled for the moment."

"Okay," Rachel took another deep breath and exhaled, "you're right. Let's change and go out to dinner with our family."

"Sounds like a plan to me," he nodded.

...

Though Puck and Rachel really wanted to do something else, they knew they wouldn't have time, so they settled for a few quick kisses and hugs as they changed clothes and soon were downstairs getting ready to go. Heading out of the house and piling into his SUV, Puck drove them to Breadsticks, not very far away and since it was just five-pm, the parking lot was getting busy for the dinner rush. Going inside, they had to wait a few minutes to be seated, but once they were taken to a table, Beth slid into the booth between Puck and Rachel and Deborah and Arin sat across from them.

For a brief few moments they all glanced over the menus, but since they'd all been there numerous times before, they knew their usual orders and hardly strayed from what they liked.

"Was Finn upset that you had to come home?" Rachel asked, looking at Puck after their orders had been taken.

"No," Puck shook his head, "he understood. We all agree that family comes first."

"Oh, alright. That's good," Rachel smiled, "I just didn't want him to be mad or anything. You were covering for Burt."

"It's okay. We usually like when two of us are there, but it's not necessary, because we do have other guys to call in. Burt, Finn and I are the only ones who deal with the money at the end of the night, so one of us has to be there and Finn can cover it," Puck explained, relaxing.

"Are you working tomorrow?" Beth asked him.

"Nope, I'm off," he smiled, "so maybe we can work on getting Rachel moved in tomorrow."

"I'd love that," Rachel replied with a grin.

"Me too!" Beth agreed.

...

Having a relaxing family dinner, once their bill was paid, they left Breadsticks and headed to the ice cream shop in town to get dessert and headed home to watch a movie. They let Beth pick and she chose 'Cars', so after gathering up some popcorn and getting into comfortable clothes, the family sat down in the living room to watch the Disney film.

Rachel admitted she had never seen the movie. It was one of Beth's favorites and though she knew most of it by heart, she promised not to talk through too much of it, so Rachel could watch it and for the next few hours, the entire living room laughed during the funny parts and enjoyed the animated movie.

With a few short breaks, it didn't end until close to ten, so thankfully it wasn't a school night, because it was way past Beth's bedtime and she was hardly able to stay awake through the end of the movie.

"What did you think?" Beth asked Rachel as she sat up a little on the couch.

"I really liked it. It's very cute and also has a very good message," she replied with a smile, "but we can talk about that tomorrow. You need to get to bed."

"But I'm not tired," she said, trying to open her eyes more.

Puck smirked, "right; so that was some other kid I had to wake up towards the end of the movie?"

"It wasn't," she sighed.

"Kiddo, you're tired. It's not a school night, so it's okay to stay up a little later, but you need to go to bed."

"Alright," she murmured.

"Go on and brush your teeth and dad and I will be up in a minute," Rachel said.

"Okay," Beth nodded and after saying 'goodnight' and hugging her grandma and aunt, she headed upstairs.

"After she gets to bed, I think we should talk about what happened today," Deborah commented softly as she began to gather up empty soda cans and popcorn bowls.

"As soon as we get her tucked in, we will," Puck promised.

Rachel took Puck's hand and guided him upstairs, reaching the top just as Beth came out of the bathroom and headed into her room. She'd already changed into her pajamas before they started watching the movies, so as Puck pulled back her blankets, she crawled into bed and settled in.

Talking and singing to her for a few moments, they promised they were just down the hall if she needed them and after saying 'goodnight', the couple tucked her in, kissed her forehead and left her room, closing the door behind them.

Heading back downstairs, they found Arin and Deborah were still cleaning up some messes, so Puck and Rachel chipped in to help finish up and then the four of them took seats in the kitchen around the table, so they could talk.

Rachel started out explaining what had happened that afternoon. She had already told them, but since she was upset, she wasn't being completely clear or detailed, so she cleared up some questions the three had and then Puck explained what he talked to Judy about when she showed up at the shop.

"She crossed lines on so many levels," Arin commented after hearing Puck talk.

"Oh yeah she did," Deborah agreed.

"Are you sure she's not going to try to cause problems?" Rachel asked nervously, "I just... I don't want something to happen."

"It won't," Puck replied, "I think after she cooled off a little, she realized just how bad she fucked up and she knows there isn't anything she can do," he said, "and I admit part of this is my fault for not letting her know, but I don't have to go through her to do anything. She was living in this fantasy world where Beth and I would spend our lives alone, missing Quinn, but we're not. We're living our lives and I finally got the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with and who I want to be a mom to my daughter," he explained, taking Rachel's hand in his and squeezing it.

Rachel smiled brightly, "I love you."

"I love you, too, babe," he replied, "and as long as Beth doesn't want to see Judy, she doesn't have to. I'm respecting her wishes and Judy finally got that, so I'm very sure she won't be coming around again."

"I know we're all thankful for that," Deborah commented.

Arin and Rachel nodded in agreement, "yes we are," Rachel said honestly, "and on a side note, before I forget. My dads will be up here around ten tomorrow. I had talked to them before this all happened and they offered to help move some things, because at the time you weren't sure if you'd be working or not."

"That's cool. I'm off, but the extra help will be nice. Have you even talked to your landlord yet?" Puck asked.

"No," Rachel shook her head, "I found the paperwork for my lease today, so I'm going to call him soon. It's kind of a month-by-month lease, so there is no real end date, but I don't want to tell him I'm moving out until I'm sure I'm done moving," she explained.

"We're gonna need a bigger house," Puck groaned.

"Where did that come from?" Arin laughed.

Puck blushed, "um, well," he bit his lip, "okay, I don't want to get too ahead of ourselves here, but considering that Rachel is moving in and we're going to be getting married, there is a good chance that she might get pregnant and we don't have any extra rooms for a nursery," he admitted.

Rachel gasped at his suggestion and though it was a shock, she didn't dislike the idea of having a baby. Blushing, she ducked her head, unsure just what to say at the moment.

Deborah noticed Rachel's reaction and though shocked herself, she cleared her throat, "you do bring up a valid point, but let's get one thing settled first," she suggested, "we don't need to overwhelm ourselves with things we can't control right at this moment. We'll get Rachel moved in and see what happens next."

"Good idea, mom," Arin agreed, nodding.

"Yeah, it is," Puck nodded, taking a deep breath and looking at Rachel, "Rach, you okay?"

"Yes," Rachel replied, looking up, "I'm fine. Mom is right. Normally I'd be thinking that far down the line, too, but with Santana's baby shower in two weeks, us going away on a vacation at the end of the month, and me moving in, plus trying to think about a wedding. We've got enough on our plate as it is, so we should just work with those and deal with the rest a little later."

Deborah nodded in agreement, "exactly," she said, then looked at the clock, "today has been an eventful day and if your dads are coming up in the morning, we should all get some sleep so we're up when they arrive," she suggested.

Everyone agreed with Deborah, so they all got up and after making sure the doors were locked, the four of them headed upstairs, saying 'goodnight' quietly in the hall so they didn't walk Beth.

Puck and Rachel moved into their room and closed the door, moving towards the bed. Rachel pushed some of her things out of the way and then removed her pajamas and slid into bed, her body beginning to show signs of being tired. "I had kind of an embarrassing moment today with Beth," Rachel admitted.

"You did? What happened?" Puck asked curiously, taking off his t-shirt and pants and joined her in bed.

She blushed, "well, she was in here with me, coloring in her book while I was organizing all my clothes to hang up and when I started hanging them up, she was handing me the hangers and she picked up something that I had forgotten I had in the pile," she explained.

He smirked, "oh yeah? What was it?"

"You haven't seen me in it yet, but it's a see-through robe. She saw it and asked where I'd wear it," she bit her lip, her blush continuing, "I just told her I wouldn't wear it out, it'd go over pajamas."

Puck started laughing, "babe, that's hilarious!"

Rachel glared at him at first, but as she realized how funny the situation had been, she joined him laughing, but sobered, "she knows to knock when she wants to come in here, but I honestly didn't know what to say to her."

"Yeah, I get ya," he grinned, kissing her lips, "you did fine. I figure we'll have to talk to her about that stuff soon, because I know this won't be the first time she'll wonder about things like that or accidentally see something," he paused, shifting so he was hovering over her, "on to more important things. Why haven't I seen you in that?" He asked curiously.

"I just got it and haven't had a chance to dress up for you yet," she winked.

He leaned forward and kissed her lips, then trailed kisses down her neck to her chest, "soon," he murmured, "right now I wanna make love to you."

Rachel groaned at the feelings he was giving her and nodded in agreement, "please do."

...

Taking the opportunity to enjoy each other's adult company, the couple settled into the pillows to relax. Puck was laying on his stomach with one arm draped over Rachel's chest, while she laid on her back, "I'm sorry if I caught you off guard earlier when I brought up needing a bigger house," he murmured.

Rachel shook her head, "don't be," she said, turning a little to kiss him on the lips, "it's something I actually hadn't thought of and you do bring up a good point."

"I get that," he nodded, "but I mean when I was talking about having more kids," he blushed, "we haven't really talked about them, but I do want us to have more kids."

"I want the same," she nodded. "I feel bad that Beth will be so much older than our next child, but I want her to have siblings."

Puck sighed in relief, "you do not know how good it feels to hear you say that. I was so worried that I had scared you. You didn't say anything about it specifically and I wanted to wait until we were alone to talk about it. I want Beth to have siblings, too," he agreed, "and I want to have more children with you."

"You're making it very difficult to want to continue taking birth control," Rachel murmured, kissing him again, "because I'd love to start as soon as possible."

"What?" His eyes widened, "really?"

"Really," she nodded, "I'm ready."

"That is all up to you. If you want to, I won't stop you," he grinned, moving to rest his hand against her flat stomach, "because I'd love to see you growing with our child inside of you," he whispered, brushing a kiss against her lips.

Rachel smiled brightly and let one of her hands join his on her stomach, "as soon as I finish this month's pack, I'll stop. My doctor has already told me that if I do want to stop for this reason, to stop at the end of a pack and I'll be okay," she explained softly.

"Sounds like a plan to me, but remember, I got Quinn on the first try," he winked.

She giggled and kissed him, "I guess that's a chance we'll take," she replied with a shrug.

...

A/N5: Hope you all enjoyed! Please review and let me know! I'm not getting a ton of reviews per update, so I have no clue what you guys are thinking about the fic. Please tell me. I do understand being busy or reading on devices that it's not easy to review on, but if you can, I'd really appreciate it. Even if the message is just 'loved it'. Your reviews keep me writing! To those of you who have reviewed, thank you so much! I'm sorry it's taken me forever to reply, but I'll try to get to them as soon as I can; I love them all! Thanks for reading! Love you all!  
A/N6: Oh! Make sure you guys add me to your author alerts list, if you can. It'll let you know when I post new fics, not just the fics you've got a 'story alert' on. That way, if you like my writing, when this fic is over and I post a new story, you'll get a message about it.

...


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Returning Home, Part 9/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

A/N3: AU after 1x13 ~ Sectionals.

A/N4: Puck and Rachel were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

...

Both Puck and Rachel had several things on their mind as they two settled into bed, and Rachel suggested they put their pajamas back on.

"Why?" He asked, raising a curious eyebrow at her.

She bit her lip nervously, "well, I don't know how well Beth is going to sleep. She seemed okay the rest of the day, but with what happened this afternoon, I thought she might have a bad dream or something."

Puck thought for a moment and nodded in agreement, "yeah. I was going to say she'll be fine, but we don't know. I've never been in a situation like this before," he admitted, pushing the blankets off of them.

"Exactly, and to be honest, I don't know how well I'm going to sleep, either," she added as she sat up with him.

He pulled her close to him and kissed her lips, "we're all going to be okay, I promise," he assured her.

"I believe you, Noah, but I still can't help worrying," she admitted, standing up and moving to get some clothes to put on.

He watched her move for a moment and smiled, "and that's why I love you so much and how I know we're doing the right thing," he replied, getting up and finding his boxers.

Rachel slid into her pajama shorts and as she pulled her shirt on, she turned to him, "what do you mean?"

Walking over to her, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lovingly, "because in just a short time you've taken on being a mom to her and I know your concern and love for her is genuine," he admitted truthfully. "That means so much to me and assures me that what we're doing by moving in together, getting engaged, talking about a bigger family and soon getting married, is the right thing to do," he smiled, "I love you."

Standing up on her tip toes, Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips, "I love you, too and I love Beth. I also love being a part of this family and I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together," she smiled.

"We feel the same way," he promised, moving them back towards the bed. Laying Rachel on it, he climbed up next to her and smiled as he settled back against the pillows again.

Rachel tried to calm her racing heart, but she couldn't help it from the happy emotions she was feeling because of their conversation. Taking a few deep breaths and exhaling, she snuggled up against him and closed her eyes as her hand rested on his chest, "goodnight, Noah," she whispered, knowing they needed to get to sleep soon.

Puck reached and pulled their blankets over them and kissed her forehead, "night, Rach."

...

Finally getting to sleep just after midnight, Rachel and Puck hoped Beth would be able to sleep through the night, but just after two-thirty, Puck snapped up from a dead sleep when he thought he heard Beth calling for 'mommy'. Thinking he was dreaming it, he laid back down, but moments later he heard her voice yelling for 'daddy', so he knew it was real.

Rachel was just stirring in bed at his quick movements, "Beth's up," he murmured, jumping out of bed and grabbing a t-shirt to throw on as he walked to the door. Pulling it open and heading down the hall to Beth's room, he opened it quickly and flipped on the light, seeing her sitting up in bed, clinging to one of her stuffed animals and tears running down her face, "Beth, sweetheart," he stepped in and sat down on her bed, "did you have a bad dream?"

She nodded and threw herself at him, her arms wrapping around his neck, "it was so scary!" She exclaimed, sobbing, "and then I woke up and called for mommy, but she didn't come and then I called for you and I thought you weren't going to come!"

"I came in as soon as I heard you," he promised, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. Rubbing her back a little as she sobbed, he took a deep breath, "you're going to be alright," he promised, "I'm sorry we didn't come in right away, but I'm here now," not wanting to ask about her dream right yet, since he had a good idea he knew what it was.

"Where's mommy?" She asked, rubbing away some tears with her hand.

"She's just waking up. Do you want to go see her?" He asked, pressing a kiss to her forehead. When she nodded, Puck stood up with her in his arms and carried her into their room, where Rachel was just getting up to come join them, "she's right here," he smiled at Beth.

Rachel moved over to them, "Beth, are you okay? Did you have a bad dream?" She asked, getting even more worried when she heard Puck say 'she's right here'.

"I had a dream that Grandma Judy made you leave us," Beth cried, reaching out for Rachel.

"No one could ever make me leave you guys," Rachel promised, wrapping her arms around both Beth and Puck, "I promise you both that."

Beth nodded, "but it felt so real."

"Dreams sometimes do," Rachel nodded, "but it's not real. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

Puck guided them to the bed and set Beth on the edge, since she was still in his arms and kissed her forehead, "we're always going to be a family. No one can make Rachel leave us, okay?" He said softly, kneeling down to look at her.

Rubbing her eyes a little, she nodded, "okay."

Rachel wrapped her arms around Beth and kissed her cheek, "would you like to stay in here with us to sleep?"

"Can I?" She asked hopeful.

Puck eyed them, then sighed dramatically, "I guess, but no hogging the blankets like last time," he smirked, remembering a few months prior when he'd let her do that and she'd ended up with all the blankets.

Beth giggled, "okay."

Rachel climbed up into the middle of the bed and patted next to her, "come join me, you two. We'll protect you, so you hopefully won't have any more bad dreams," she told Beth.

Crawling up next to Rachel, Beth wrapped her arms around Rachel, "I love you, mommy."

Unable to hide her smile, Rachel returned her hug, kissing Beth's cheek, and holding her close, "I love you, too, sweetheart."

Puck smiled and crawled into bed on Rachel's other side and wrapped his arms around both of them, "and I love both of you."

"Love you, too, daddy," Beth said as she pulled back a little from Rachel's hug.

Content with his strong chest against her, Rachel turned a little and kissed his lips before leaning back, all three of them settling against the pillows as Puck pulled the blankets over them.

"Sleep well, you two," he murmured, draping an arm over Rachel's body and rubbed Beth's back a little, "you okay now, kiddo?"

Beth took his hand in hers and nodded, "yeah, I'm glad it was just a bad dream."

...

Waking up around seven, close to her usual time, Deborah put her robe on and left her room, heading down the hallway and noticed that Beth's door was open. Peaking inside, she didn't see her, but wasn't surprised. She expected her to be in the living room watching cartoons, but when she went downstairs, she wasn't there. "That's odd. Where is she?" Deborah glanced in the kitchen and dinning room and after no luck, she got concerned and went back upstairs, looking in her room again. Curious, she moved down to Puck and Rachel's room hoping she was in there and as she stepped into the doorway, she smiled at the sight. All three were sound asleep, laying on their sides in bed; their backs were to each other and Puck had his arm draped over Rachel and Beth protectively.

Unable to resist, she quietly stepped into her room to get her camera and returned to take a few pictures of her son, granddaughter and soon-to-be daughter-in-law. Carefully sneaking out before they woke up, she went on with her morning, curious why Beth was in their room, but could wait a few hours to find out.

...

Knowing her dads would arrive in the mid-morning, Rachel had set the alarm for eight, giving them plenty of time to get ready before they got there. When the bedside clock began to beep, Rachel was the first one to wake up, and after a moment of confusion, she remembered Beth was next to her, so she carefully reached over her to hit the snooze button, knowing it would go off again.

"Go back to sleep," Puck murmured, shifting his arm to wrap just around Rachel and pulled her closer to him.

Rachel smiled and let her eyes drift closed, sinking back into his chest, "I would, but my dads will be here soon and we we shouldn't still be in bed when they arrive," she explained.

"Alright," he replied, his eyes still closed, "few more minutes, then."

"That we can do," she agreed.

He shifted a little and pressed a kiss on her shoulder, "good."

"Morning," Beth commented rolling to her back to look at them.

Puck leaned over Rachel and smiled, "hey kiddo. Did you sleep better?" He asked hopeful.

"Yes, thanks for letting me stay," Beth admitted.

"You're welcome, sweetheart," Rachel wrapped her arms around Beth and kissed her cheek, "any more bad dreams?"

"Nope," Beth shook her head and returned Rachel's hug.

"That's good," Puck said, sitting up a little on his elbow, "you know we're always here for you, right?"

Beth nodded, "yes, I do."

After a few more minutes, the alarm next to the bed began to go off again, so this time, Rachel sat up and turned it off, "alright, time to get up," she said.

"Can I go watch TV?" Beth asked.

"I don't know if you 'can' or not, but you 'may'," Puck replied looking at her with a grin.

Beth sighed, "daddy," she rolled her eyes and hopped down from their bed.

Puck smirked, "well, if you don't want me to say that, then ask correctly," he commented.

She rolled her eyes and headed towards the door, "but I always forget."

"Hey! Come back here," he said patting the edge of the bed as he sat up and rested his feet on the floor.

"What?" She asked curiously moving towards him.

Puck wrapped his arms around her in a hug and kissed her cheek, "I love you, kiddo," he murmured, "don't forget that."

"I won't," she promised, hugging him tightly, "love you, too, daddy," she replied.

"Good," he smiled at her, "we'll be downstairs in a while," he told her.

Beth nodded and after waving at Rachel, she left their room and shut the door behind her.

Puck laid back in bed again, looking at Rachel who was still sitting in it, "do we really have to get up right now?"

Rachel looked at him and knew what he was getting at, so she thought for a moment, "well not _right_ now, but we should get up soon. Dad and daddy will be here by ten," she admitted.

"Well, we can save time and shower together," he commented with a grin, reaching out and pulling her against his chest, "have I ever told you how much of a turn on it is to see you being all motherly to Beth?" He asked curiously, pressing a kiss to her lips.

"You may or may not have mentioned it," she replied with a smile, shifting to lay on top of him, "maybe you could refresh my memory," she suggested.

He grinned, "gladly."

...

Beth skipped downstairs and smelled coffee, so she followed it into the kitchen, "morning grandma," she said.

Deborah smiled, "good morning, sweetie. Did you sleep okay?"

"Kind of," she shrugged, moving towards her and wrapped her arms around her waist in a hug.

Returning her hug, she pressed a kiss to her forehead, "what do you mean 'kind of'?"

"I had a bad dream and daddy brought me into his and mommy's room and they helped me calm down and let me stay with them the rest of the night," she explained.

"Uh oh, bad dreams are not good. Are you okay now? What was it about?" She asked, curiously.

Beth bit her lip, "I dreamed that Grandma Judy made mommy leave us."

"Oh sweetie," Deborah hugged her again, "I'm sorry you had a dream like that. They told you that wouldn't happen, right?"

"Yeah. Mommy said no one could make her leave, so that made me happy. I feel better now," she told her.

"That's good," Deborah replied, not wanting to repeat anything they'd said, so she just left it at that. "I was going to go shower before I start breakfast, so you can go watch TV if you want to."

"Okay," Beth nodded and hugged her once more, then skipped into the living room.

...

By nine that morning, the Puckerman house was completely awake. Deborah had showered and was starting breakfast, Arin was up and she and Beth were watching TV in the living room and Rachel and Puck had finally made it into the shower.

"I'm hungry," Beth commented, looking at Arin.

"Well, I'm sure it'll be ready soon. Let's go find out," Arin commented, motioning to the kitchen.

"Okay," Beth stood up and waited until Arin was standing before moving into the kitchen.

As Arin followed Beth, she made it to the kitchen doorway before hearing the doorbell ring. Knowing who it was, she turned around and headed for the door, pulling it open to find Alan and David on the other side, "morning, guys," she said with a smile.

"Morning, Arin. Hope we're not interrupting anything," David commented.

"No you're not," she promised, "come in."

Just as the two men stepped inside and took off their heavy winter jackets, Beth joined them, "hi," she grinned, then paused, "what do I call you?" She wondered.

David and Alan hung their jackets on the coat rack by the door and knowing that Rachel was Beth's mom, they expected that question to come up sometime, so they had already talked about it, "well, how about grandpa and granddad. You pick who you call what," David suggested turning to her and holding out his arms.

Beth nodded, "okay! I'll call you grandpa, then," she replied, stepping into his arms and giving him a hug. Pulling from him, she moved to Alan and added, "and since Rachel calls you 'dad', I'll call you granddad."

"That sounds good to me," Alan agreed, hugging her.

"Me too," David nodded.

"Mom's in the kitchen," Arin commented, "would you guys like something to eat or drink?" She asked, moving in that direction.

Following Arin into the kitchen, the two men greeted Deborah and Arin got them coffee and they sat down at the table and chatted lightly for a bit, while Deborah was finishing up breakfast and just as she put the last of the pancakes into the oven to keep them warm while they waited for Puck and Rachel to come downstairs, they heard footsteps and moments later the two appeared in the kitchen.

"Dad! Daddy! Hi! I didn't expect you guys so soon!" Rachel gasped, seeing them sitting at the table.

"We were ready so we didn't figure there was a point to sitting around and waiting until eight to leave, so we got up here early," Alan explained, standing up and giving her a hug.

"I'm glad you both are here," she added, kissing Alan on the cheek as they hugged and then moved to give David a hug and kiss, too.

"We are, too," David told her with a smile.

"Daddy, guess what!" Beth exclaimed, moving over to Puck.

Puck looked at her for a few moments, "I have no clue. What?" He smirked.

"Rachel's dads said I can call them 'grandpa' and 'granddad'!" She grinned.

"Oh really?" He glanced at them, "did you ask them?"

Beth nodded, "yep!"

"As long as that's okay with you, Noah," David added, "since she's already calling Rachel 'mom', we don't mind her calling us that."

"Totally cool," Puck replied, "thank you for accepting her as your grandchild," he admitted.

"No thanks needed, Noah. We would be hypocrites if we didn't. We know that one of us is Rachel's biological father and the other accepted her as their own, no matter what, so it's no different here. Blood doesn't mean everything in our family," Alan explained, wrapping an arm around around Rachel.

"That's really good to know," Puck told them honestly, moving to shake their hands, feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Rachel smiled at the three important men in her life, "now that we have that settled, how about breakfast? We've got a big day!" She commented, helping to break the nervous air in the room.

...

Keeping the conversation light, the large family settled around the table for breakfast. Rachel wanted to tell her dads about what happened the day before with Judy, but she and Puck had agreed it was better to talk to them when Beth wasn't around, so they didn't bring it up right away.

As breakfast came to an end, Arin offered to help Beth get cleaned up and dressed for the day, so as soon as they were out of the kitchen, the adults had their change to talk. Once Rachel was sure they were upstairs, her shoulders sunk and she sighed, "I'm still getting over yesterday," she murmured, looking at her dads, "we need to tell you guys what happened, too."

Alan and David exchanged concerned glances, "what happened?" Alan asked nervously.

Taking a deep breath, Rachel began to explain what had happened the day before when Judy stopped by unannounced, including what she said to Rachel and Beth, how she handled Beth, how Rachel stood up to her and what was said between Puck and Judy when she visited him at the shop.

By the time she finished explaining everything, David and Alan were both extremely upset about it all, but were doing their best to stay calm, focusing their concern to Beth and Rachel, "but you're alright now, right? Beth seems to be doing okay. How is she doing? How are you doing, sweetheart?" David asked Rachel.

"I'm... I'm still a little shaken up," she admitted, "I think it will be a while before I'm over it and now Beth is terrified of Judy. Then this morning I felt horrible when she had a bad dream and woke up crying for us. It was about Judy making me leave them. It really upset her and I admit it bothered me, too, but I know Judy could never make me leave."

Puck rested his hand on her back and rubbed it gently, "Beth's a tough kid. Her bad dream was because this just happened, but in a few days, she'll be over it, except she probably won't like Judy again, which I'm fine with. I'm not going to force her to like or see Judy," he explained.

The two men nodded at Puck's comment and relaxed a little, "that's a good idea," David agreed, "forcing her to see Judy right away could do more harm. She, and I'm sure you guys, lost all your trust in Judy and that needs to be earned back."

"Exactly," Puck replied, "things just need to cool off and in a few weeks or a month or so, when we've all gotten over what happened, we'll talk with Beth about maybe inviting Judy up or something, but it's all her call. If she doesn't want to see her, we can't make her. I don't think Judy will ever earn back any of my trust. I lost what little I had for her because of what she pulled."

"I totally agree," Alan nodded, looking at them, but before he could say anymore, they heard footsteps, so they knew Arin and Beth were returning.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you guys and tell you yesterday," Rachel said softly.

"Don't apologize. We're sorry we missed all this, but taking care of Beth was most important and we are finding out," David told them, "we're also here if any of you ever want to talk."

"Thank you," Puck smiled at them.

"You're welcome," Alan replied, returning Puck's smile.

"Will I ever be able to wake up to Beth calling out for me?" Rachel asked softly, "I felt horrible that it took Noah waking up to her calling before I woke up to know what was going on," she explained.

"Oh sweetheart, that just doesn't change overnight. Is this the first time she did that since you've been here?" David asked.

"Yes," Rachel nodded, "it is, but I still feel horrible. I should have woken up and realized what was going on. What if it had been something worse?"

"Babe, that takes time. I'm used to waking up to her or listening for 'daddy', but this is the first time she's done that since you've been around. Don't beat yourself up over this," Puck commented, leaning over and kissing her on the forehead, "give yourself some time to get used to all of this."

"He's right, Rachel," David nodded, "parenting isn't something that just happens overnight. You have to take things each step at a time and deal with things as they come."

Taking a deep breath, Rachel sighed, "alright, but I still feel bad."

"Don't," Puck said confidently, "once I brought Beth into our room, you were great! You reassured her that what happened during the dream wouldn't happen in real life and helped her through it. I know we all slept better once we talked about it."

"Yeah, I think we did, too," she admitted.

"Then that's what is important," Alan commented, "one thing at a time."

"Okay," Rachel nodded and smiled when she saw Beth and Arin reenter the kitchen, both dressed in clothes for the day. "Hey there kiddo. Ready to help me move?" Rachel asked Beth.

Beth nodded, moving over and hugging Rachel, "yep!"

"Great!" Rachel smiled, kissing her forehead.

...

Rachel still had something to talk to her dads about, but she knew it could wait a while; she didn't want to bring it up around Beth to confuse or worry her, so for the time being the conversation the adults had been having was put aside and they all got ready to go to her rental house.

Going a few streets over, the Puckermans and the Berrys stepped into Rachel's house and she tried to figure out where to start. The Puckerman house was not big enough to move all of her furniture into, so for the time being, she was going to keep it at her rental until they figured out what to do. The night before, the idea of Puck, Rachel and Beth finding their own place had come up and though it was something they would need to think about soon, they agreed to get Rachel moved in first and some other things settled before they jumped into the search for their own place.

For the next few hours, the family gathered up things into boxes and bags and loaded up the three cars they had driven over and by two they were returning to the Puckerman's to unload Rachel's things and have something to eat.

Heading back to the rental, they continued to organize and clean up a little, so there wasn't as much to clean when Rachel was forced to. Alan and David had some boxes in their SUV that they were going to put into Rachel's room at their place; some items that Rachel wanted to keep, but didn't need, so they offered to keep them until she had a place for them.

Deborah had stayed at the Puckerman's when the others returned to Rachel's, so she could get started on dinner and by six everyone was back and sitting down to dinner.

Alan and David didn't like eating and leaving right away, but since it was Sunday and they had to work the next day, they did have to leave. Throughout the day, they had been watching Rachel's interaction with Beth and Puck and could easily see that Rachel was doing the right thing; she was a part of their lives already and could tell she was happy, so they were, without question, behind her decisions and glad she was in Puck and Beth's lives.

The two men said 'goodnight' to everyone and Rachel thanked them for their help and promised to talk to them soon, before walking them to the front door and watching them head out to their SUV and drive off.

After they left, everyone got ready for bed, since most everyone had to be up early for work or school the next day and finally as Puck and Rachel settled into bed, boxes piled everywhere, they were able to relax from their busy day.

"We got a lot accomplished today," Rachel commented snuggling up to him.

"Yeah, we did," he agreed, closing his eyes.

"Are you feeling alright?" She asked, sitting up and looking at him, "you hardly ate dinner and you're never this quiet."

He shrugged, "not feeling the greatest. I think I might be getting what Burt's got."

"Didn't you say he had the flu?"

Puck nodded, "yeah and I worked with him just a few days ago, so I won't be surprised if I end up getting sick."

Rachel pressed her hand to his forehead, "you are warmer than normal. You might have a fever."

"Not surprised," he murmured, "it's been a while since I was sick last."

"Where's your thermometer?" She asked.

"If I have a fever, I'll know it, Rach. You don't need to take it," he replied, his eyes still closed.

"But if you think you might have one, you could know for sure and take something to help break your fever before you get worse," she told him, standing up and looking at him, "don't be stubborn."

Puck sighed and motioned to their bedroom door, "it's in the hall bathroom."

Rachel moved to the door and padded down the hallway to the bathroom and quietly stepped in. Opening the medicine cabinet, she glanced over the shelves and landed on the thermometer, so she picked it up along with a few alcohol swabs and returned to her and Puck's room, "it won't take more than thirty seconds to find out if you have a fever," she commented, glancing up to see him laying on his side, facing where she usually laid and his arm draped over his pillow. Stepping closer she realized he hadn't moved, "Noah?" She asked and at his even breathing she realized he was sound asleep. "_Wow! He must not be feeling good. I've never known him to fall asleep that fast._"

Moving to her side of the bed, she laid the items in her hand on her nightstand and crawled into bed, pulling the blankets over him and kissing him on the forehead, "sleep well, Noah. I hope you're not getting sick, but if you are, I'll take care of you," she whispered to him, before turning out the light and settling into sleep herself.

...

A/N5: I hope you enjoyed! I promise I have not abandoned you! It's been a long few months. When I last updated my fics, in late-May to early-June, I was doing okay, but my medical issues flared up and in mid-June other things were added to my plate. Since it's the summer, it's road-trip season for me, so I've been hanging out with my friends and am also trying to get my business up and running to sell my crafts, my mom is out of school and we have a lot of things around the house we're trying to do, going places with her and taking her to Seattle for her cancer check-ups (she's still cancer free! Yay!) so my time online has been limited. All of this has built up, so I usually only have the energy to email and hang out on Tumblr. I just went to the doctor and am working on getting some of these things straightened out, so I'm getting there. Just bare with me, please. I promise I will get to reviews and fics when I can, but it may be a while. I love you all and thank you so much for your support and for reading my fics! Don't forget, aside from my few WIPs, I also have several complete fics that you could read.

A/N6: There is a 'Puckleberry Awards' going on at LiveJournal - here's the link to the nomination post - ( prfanficawards . livejournal . com / 789 . html ). They have numerous categories and you can vote for up to 3 fics per category. Originally the nominations would only be until July 15th, but they have been extended to July 31st. There are a ton of Puckleberry fics and authors out there and I'm not sure who knows about this (I heard about it on Tumblr) and I'm letting you all know. You have to be a member of LiveJournal to comment and all you guys have to do is copy and paste the nomination 'form' into a comment on that link above and type in the names of the fics and authors information (links to fics of some kind) and submit it. You can also post the form in the 'askbox' on the Tumblr for the awards, but you have to be a member of Tumblr. If you are not a member of either, I think you can email it, but I'm not 100% on that one, but I'm sure you could contact the creator and ask. There is only one 'WIP' category, so 'Out of the Blue', 'Starlight', 'Broken Road' and 'Returning Home' only fit into that category, but remember, I have several complete fics you can nominate (if you'd like): 'Fly Me To The Moon', 'Became The Summer', 'Leave Out All The Rest', 'Paper and 'Gotta Start Somewhere' and I'm SapphireEJ on FF and SapphiresFic on LJ - the more information you give them, the easier it is for the people doing the awards to find the fics. Don't feel obligated to nominate me, but if you'd like to, that'd be awesome.

...


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Returning Home, Part 10/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

A/N3: AU after 1x13 ~ Sectionals.

A/N4: Puck and Rachel were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

...

Puck woke up a couple hours after he'd fallen asleep, around one in the morning, shivering and sick to his stomach. "_I hate being sick,_" he thought, tossing to his side, facing away from Rachel, because he didn't want to get her sick.

Closing his eyes, he hoped he could drift right back to sleep, but the way he was laying put pressure on his stomach, so he shifted several times, until he sighed in frustration. Pushing himself up, he rubbed his face and shivered. He'd gone to sleep in just his boxers, but with a fever he was freezing, so he carefully stood up from bed and found a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie to put on, "_much better,_" he thought, pulling the hood up over his head. "_I know she's not going to like me not being here, but I can't keep tossing and turning. It'll wake her up. I'll just go downstairs and sleep on the couch,_" he told himself, carefully grabbing his pillow and Rachel's comforter from her bed at her place, that was folded up at the end of their bed, and quietly stepped out of their room and headed downstairs.

"Being sick sucks," he muttered as he made himself comfortable on the couch, his pillow behind his head and the blanket tucked around him to keep warm, "_I mean, I haven't been sick for a while, so I knew it was coming, but I expected it to be from Beth or Arin bringing home something from school or mom bringing home something from the hospital. I definitely didn't expect to get this from Burt, but I had a feeling he might be getting sick when I last worked with him,_" he thought, letting his mind relax as he began to settle into the warmth.

...

Just an hour after Puck had gone downstairs, Rachel woke up on her own, when she rolled over and didn't find him in bed, "Noah?" She said softly, glancing around and her eyes landed on the open bathroom door, "well, he's not in there," she commented, sitting up a little and resting her hand where he usually laid, feeling the sheets were cool, meaning he hadn't been there for a while. "_Where did he go?_" She wondered silently, reaching over to turn the light on by the bed and upon further inspection, saw one of his pillows missing. "_He must be downstairs._"

Sliding out of bed, she slipped into her her warm robe and picked up the thermometer that she'd left by the bed and padded out of the room, heading downstairs and confirming her suspicion, when she saw her fiancé wrapped up in her comforter on the couch, "_Noah, why are you down here?_" She wondered to herself as she moved towards him and sat on the edge of the couch. Resting her hand on his forehead, she could definitely tell he had a fever and shook her head, "_there is no reason why he needed to leave a perfectly warm bed to sleep on the couch,_" she thought, "_but then again, maybe he figured he'd keep me from getting sick, though it is a little late for that. I've already been exposed, since he felt fine yesterday morning,_" she stood up and reached for the quilt that was draped over the back of the couch.

Opening it out, she laid it over him and then carefully crawled over him to snuggle up in the space between him and the couch and pulled the blanket over her, surprised to find he was still asleep, "feel better soon, Noah. Love you," she murmured, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead before settling in and closing her eyes.

...

Puck was sound asleep when Rachel joined him, so he hadn't noticed, but about an hour after she'd fallen asleep, he woke up with an even worse stomach ache than he had earlier, "_Burt is on my shit list,_" he thought, finding it difficult to move, "_what is... Oh, Rachel,_" he couldn't help the smile tug at his lips, but hated to expose her to germs to make her sick, because if he got it from someone, he knew it would be easy for someone to get it from him.

"_Oh shit,_" he groaned, his eyes widening as he shifted, quickly getting up and dashing to the bathroom.

Rachel woke up when she rolled onto the cushions of the couch and saw his back in the dark room as he headed for the bathroom and moments later she could tell he was sick to his stomach, "_definitely the flu,_" she thought, getting up and moving into the kitchen to find a towel. Wetting it with some cool water, she grabbed a bottle of Gatorade from the pantry, so it wasn't cold, and walked into the small bathroom, just as the toilet flushed and he took a seat on the floor, leaning against the wall. "It hit you, huh?" She asked softly.

"This feels worse than a hangover," he muttered, letting his eyes close.

"I'm sure it does. The flu is not fun," she agreed, holding out the sports drink, "here, drink this. You need to keep fluids in you, so you don't get dehydrated," she told him.

"Thanks, but I don't think it'll stay down," he replied, taking a deep breath and opening his eyes to look at her.

Since the bathroom was small, with only a sink and toilet, there was not a lot of floor space, Rachel couldn't sit down next to him, so she took to kneeling down near him and laying the towel on the back of his neck, "we need to take your temperature, too," she pulled the thermometer out of her pocket, "and you've gotta take something to help break your fever," she reminded him.

"I know," he nodded, "but..." Before he could finish what he was going to say, he groaned, getting sick again.

Rachel sighed, feeling helpless, but stayed where she was, rubbing his back gently and tried to remember what her dads had done, because it had been years since she'd been that sick.

Feeling a lot better after a second time, Puck used the towel she'd put around his neck to clean up a little as he still sat on the floor, "thanks, babe. You really shouldn't be around me. I'd hate it if you got sick," he told her.

"Don't worry. It's takes time to realize you're sick; it's not like an on and off switch. I've already been exposed and I don't mind. I want to help take care of you; not run away when you could share your germs. Is this why you came down here?"

"Yeah," he nodded, working to stand up, grabbing the sports drink she'd brought him and opened it up, taking a few sips, "I couldn't get comfortable, so I came down here to keep from waking you with my tossing and turning. That and I didn't want to get you sick, so I figured I'd keep your exposure to a minimum," he explained, walking back into the living room and taking a seat on the couch.

Rachel joined him, sitting down next to him, "Noah, this is not going to be the first time that one of us gets sick; it's okay. We're a couple. I expect to share things; germs included," she grinned leaning against him, "so let's go back upstairs, get comfortable and maybe sleep for a few more hours before everyone gets up."

"Actually, I'd rather stay down here. I'm closer to the kitchen if I need something and can watch TV," he explained.

"Oh yes, well that makes sense. I'll go get the Tylenol then," she said handing him the thermometer, "take it while I'm gone."

"Okay," he took it from her, "I guess I fell asleep earlier when you went to get it, huh?"

"Yes. I've never known you to fall asleep that fast," she nodded, standing up, "but you're not feeling good, so it's understandable," she pressed a kiss to his forehead, then moved to the stairs, "would you like me to bring anything down for you?"

"My cell phone, please," he replied turning on the thermometer and got it ready to use.

Rachel nodded and climbed the stairs, carefully walking down the hallway to their room and stepped in, going to the bathroom to get his bottle of Tylenol and then grabbed their phones from their night stands, before returning downstairs and retaking her seat next to him, "well, how high is it?" She asked, seeing he no longer had it in his mouth.

"One-hundred-one-point-one," he replied, "which explains why I'm still freezing."

"It does," she agreed, handing him the Tylenol bottle, "take some and hopefully they will start helping the fever."

Puck smirked a little, taking the bottle and getting a dose out. Washing the pills down with the Gatorade, he relaxed, "you don't have to take care of me," he said softly, "but I appreciate it."

Rachel pressed a kiss to his forehead and smiled at him, "you're right, I don't have to, but I want to," she explained.

"I know. Thanks, babe," he told her, laying back where he had been, "you sure you wanna be this close?" He asked again.

Standing up and helping get the blanket back over him, Rachel then retook her spot between him and the couch and pulled the blanket up the rest of the way, "I'm sure."

Smiling at her he shifted his arm around her and relaxed, "can't say I didn't warn you."

"I'd rather be close to you, than apart, just because one of us is sick. You can make it up to me by taking care of me when I'm sick," she replied with a grin.

"Deal," he let his eyes drift closed, "thanks again, babe."

"You're very welcome," she smiled, closing her eyes and settling against his chest, "if you need anything, don't be afraid to wake me up and don't worry if you have to get up in a hurry."

"Alright," Puck nodded, "I'd kiss you, but that wouldn't be the best idea right now."

"It's okay," Rachel assured him, "just relax. Sleep if you can. I'll be here. Love you."

"Love you, too, Rach," he replied, rubbing her back gently.

...

Feeling like they'd just gotten to sleep, Rachel woke up when her cell phone's alarm started going off at six. It took her a moment to figure out where she was and then remembered everything, quickly turning off her alarm, so it didn't wake Puck up.

"Too late. I've been awake," Puck murmured.

"Oh, alright. Are you feeling any better?" She asked softly.

"Not really. I think my fever might be going away, but I still have one," he told her, "stomach still hurts."

"Do you want me to get you something? Maybe something light to eat?" She offered, sitting up a little and resting her hand on his forehead.

"No thank you," he replied, "I probably won't be able to keep it down." Shifting a little, he sat up, "I should probably go call the guys and let them know I'm not coming to work for the next few days," he added, "then get Beth up and you need to get ready for work."

Rachel shook her head, "no, I'll take care of getting Beth up and I'm not going to work."

Puck stared at her, "you don't need to stay home and babysit me. I'll be fine. Yes, I'm sick, but all I'm going to do is lounge around on the couch and sleep or watch TV."

"But I can make you lunch and make sure you get your medication and go to the store if you need anything," she suggested.

"Rach, I'll be fine," he assured her, "you don't need to stay home. It's bad enough I'll be missing a few days of work. You don't need to miss some, too."

"But what if you need something we don't have?" She asked, "at least today. I can go to the store and get some things..."

Puck shook his head, "I'll be fine. I'm not going to be eating a lot. We have Gatorade and if I really need something, I can call you and you can pick it up on a break between classes," he explained.

"Oh, well, I guess I could do that," she agreed, taking a deep breath, "but what if you..."

"I'll be fine," he promised, taking her hand in his and squeezing it; not wanting to kiss her because he was sick.

Unable to hold back a blush, she let it come and nodded, "alright, but if you need _anything_ don't hesitate to call me."

"I will call you if I need anything," he promised, sitting up to stretch.

...

The morning didn't go quite like it usually did, but everyone managed. Puck had gotten sick again, just after he and Rachel had gotten up, but after, he returned to his blankets on the couch to relax, while the rest of the house got ready for the day. Deborah, who had been asleep through him getting sick, was surprised and also worried about him, but like Rachel, Puck promised her he would be fine and just needed some time to relax and get over the flu bug he had.

Puck called Finn and Burt to let them know he wasn't coming in for a few days and Burt felt bad, because he knew he gotten it from him. Puck assured him he wasn't mad, but did tease him a little for passing the germs around the garage.

Beth knew her dad was sick, but wasn't used to seeing him down sick like he was, and though she didn't show it, she was concerned.

When Deborah and Arin left for the day, Rachel and Beth stayed for a little longer, but kept quiet because Puck had fallen asleep. "Come on, Beth, let's get you to school," Rachel said softly, adjusting Puck's blanket so it wasn't falling off his shoulder.

"Okay," Beth replied, moving over to Rachel and Puck. "Is he asleep?"

Rachel nodded, "he is. He needs his rest if he's going to get over being sick."

"Oh, well," Beth bit her lip and then quickly pressed a light kiss on his forehead, "feel better, daddy. Love you," she whispered to him before stepping over to the door quietly.

Laying a note next to him that she'd written, Rachel kissed his cheek and then followed Beth, grabbing her bag on the way out of the house. The two walked to Rachel's car silently and Beth hopped in the backseat and once Rachel was satisfied that Beth was buckled in, she slid into the driver's seat, "do you have everything for school?" Rachel asked curiously.

Beth nodded, "yep. Got my lunch and my homework," she replied.

"Great. Then we're ready to go," Rachel said with a smile, starting the car and backing out of the driveway after a moment.

For the first few blocks the ride was silent, until Beth spoke up to ask something, "mommy?"

Rachel blushed a little at the word, still getting used to being called that, but smiled, glancing in the rear-view mirror, "yes?"

"Um," Beth bit her lip, "is daddy going to be okay?"

"Of course he is. Why would you ask that?" Rachel wondered.

"Well, I've never seen him that sick before," she replied.

"Really?"

Beth nodded, "yeah. Even when grandma had the flu, then Arin got it and me, too. Daddy never got it," she explained.

Rachel thought for a moment, "how long ago was that?"

"Last year," Beth said.

"Oh," Rachel's mind continued to wonder, but she kept her eyes on the road and as she pulled into the school and came to a stop at the parent's drop-off area, she turned around to Beth, "well, I promise he'll be fine in a few days. You were fine after you were sick, so he'll be the same, right?"

Beth contemplated what Rachel told her and then nodded, "I guess you're right, but I don't like seeing him sick."

"I know, sweetheart. I don't either," Rachel admitted, sliding out of the car and opening the door for Beth, "but, he'll be better in a few days and if he isn't, I'll make him go to the doctor."

"Okay," Beth nodded, climbing out of the car and took Rachel's hand once she shut the door. "Can I make him a card when I get home?" She asked.

"Of course you can," Rachel nodded, glancing both ways before crossing over the parking lot to the school sidewalk, "I bet he'd love that."

"Awesome!" Beth grinned and walked with Rachel to her class.

Walking down the path to the classrooms, they passed other parents who were dropping their kids off and as they came to a stop outside of Beth's class, Rachel looked at Beth, "are you sure you have everything?"

Beth nodded, "yep! Can you pick me up after school, too?" She asked curiously.

"I don't know. I'll try," Rachel admitted, thinking a moment. "If I can't, your grandma or aunt will," she added.

"Okay," Beth replied, letting go of Rachel's hand and hugging her, "love you, mommy."

"Love you, too, kiddo. I'll see you after school. Be good and have fun," Rachel grinned, returning her hug and kissing her on the forehead.

"I will!" Beth said, pulling away, skipping towards the door and waving at Rachel.

Rachel smiled and waved back at Beth and once she was inside and out of sight, Rachel returned to her car. Turning it on, she let it warm up a little, while her mind wandered. She didn't like the idea of going to work and leaving her fiancé at home while he was sick, but she also knew he didn't want her to fuss over him. Glancing in the backseat, she saw her bag with all of her things she takes to the dance studio and then returned to her thoughts, "_I know he's not going to want me to stay home, but he shouldn't be alone. At least not until he's feeling better. Maybe I'll miss work today and go get some things I know we don't have at the house so he can have them and if he's feeling better tomorrow, I'll go back to work... Yes, that's what I'll do._" She nodded, pulling out of the school parking lot.

...

With a plan, Rachel drove to Wal-mart and as she parked in a parking space, she called the dance studio and explained the situation to her boss, who was understanding, and willingly gave Rachel the day off to take care of Puck.

Going inside, Rachel picked up some medicines she hadn't seen around the house and a few items that helped when people were sick. Getting some foods and drinks that were light on an upset stomach, it didn't take long for her to be checking out and packing her things into her trunk.

Pulling into the driveway of the Puckerman's house, Rachel collected her purchases and headed inside, carefully unlocking the front door with her key and stepped in, hoping she hadn't woken up her fiancé.

"What are you doing home?" Puck asked from the couch, turning his head towards the door and raising a curious eyebrow at the things in her hands.

"Noah! You're awake," she gasped, surprised to hear his voice. "I'm," she blushed as she closed the door, "now I know you said that you'd be 'fine' without anyone one, but I just... There were some things I knew we didn't have here, so I stopped at Wal-mart after I dropped Beth off at school."

"So you're dropping them off and going to the studio?" He wondered.

"Not exactly," she bit her lip, "I... I figured I'd stay home today and then go back tomorrow. They understand."

Puck sighed, expecting her to be at home that day, "yeah, I get it, but what about when you get sick? I mean, there's a pretty good chance that you'll be getting what I have, too."

"I know, but I'd rather miss today, then go to work and come home to find out you got worse and had to go to the hospital or something," she explained, moving further into the living room.

He smirked a little, still feeling like crap, but he still was Puck, "it's the flu. It'll pass through me in a few days."

"I hope so, but there are..."

"Rachel, it's the flu, but thanks," he smiled, motioning to the bags, "for stopping to get things."

"You're welcome," she smiled, "I'm going to go put these away. Can I get you anything to eat? To drink?"

He motioned to the empty bottle of Gatorade, "another one of those bottles, please. It's hard enough to keep liquids down, so I'd rather not try any food."

"Understandable," she nodded, "I'll be right back."

Puck nodded and relaxed in his spot, thankful to have the company, even if he knew she was missing a day of work. He knew she was doing it because she cared about him, so he decided he wouldn't complain about her being home.

Rachel moved into the kitchen to put a few things away and returned a few moments later with what he had asked for, taking a seat near him, "feeling any better?"

"Not really. I haven't had an urge to get up and run to the bathroom yet, but I did just wake up. Give me a few minutes," he admitted, taking the bottle from her and opening it to take a few sips.

"I wish there was something else I could do to help," she sighed.

Puck shrugged, "not really. It's the flu. Not much will help, but I appreciate the company," he admitted with a light smile.

She nodded and leaned forward a little, pressing a kiss to his forehead, "I'm glad I'm here."

"Though I didn't _need_ you to take time off, I'm glad you are here, too," he replied.

...

The morning progressed slowly and quietly for the couple. Puck had gotten sick a little after Rachel had gotten home and she helped him where she could, and then they returned to the living room. Puck stretched back out on the couch, but Rachel opted to read one of her books in the recliner near him, giving him more room to get comfortable. He fell asleep after drinking some more fluids and Rachel read her book, getting deep into it for the next few hours while he slept.

As noon arrived, Rachel was getting hungry and Puck was still asleep, so she made herself something to eat and also warmed up some chicken soup for him. Puck woke up to the smell of food and though he didn't feel the best, he was hungry, so he moved into the kitchen and sat down, sipping on the broth of the soup, "thanks," he murmured.

"No thanks needed," Rachel replied, "you're not feeling well, but you still need to eat, so I'm helping out where I can."

"Yeah. I know," he nodded, "have I mentioned that I hate being sick?"

Rachel giggled lightly, "no one likes being sick."

"True," he agreed, taking his time with food, "and I guess since I haven't been sick in a long time, like this, I'm bound to be sicker, huh?"

"I'm not sure, but it is possible. Beth is worried about you," she added.

"She is? Why?" Puck asked surprised.

"Because of what you just said. It's been a long time since you've been sick like this," Rachel told him, "she's concerned."

"But she has nothing to worry about. It's just the flu," he replied.

"Adults know that, even if I'm still concerned this could get worse, but she's seven. She doesn't quite get it. She's used to you being up and about, taking her to school, picking her up, being a fun dad and now you're not doing that, so it's a change," Rachel explained.

Puck thought for a moment and nodded, "yeah I can see why she'd be worried."

...

After having a light lunch, Puck returned to the couch to get another nap in before Beth, his sister and mom got home. Rachel relaxed with him, then made sure he had everything he needed before leaving to go pick up Beth at school. Rachel left the house and headed to the school, parked in the lot, and walked over to where the other parents and siblings were waiting for their students.

Beth came walking out with some friends from her class and when she saw Rachel, she said 'bye' to them, waved at Rachel and skipped over to her, "hey mommy!" She grinned.

Rachel smiled and knelt down a little, "hey sweetie. Did you have a good day in class?" She asked wrapping her arms around her in a hug.

"I did!" Beth nodded, "and we had free time for a while, so I made daddy's card!"

"You did? That's awesome," Rachel replied.

"You wanna see it?" Beth asked, taking her backpack off her back. At Rachel's nod, Beth opened her bag and pulled out the folded white piece of paper with crayon decorations all over it and words written on the front and inside. "My teacher helped me with the words."

Rachel smiled and took it, seeing a sun, grass and colored flowers all over it with 'Daddy' on the front, and then opened it to see more of the same, this time the writing said 'get better soon! I love you'. There were three stick figure people on the inside, too, easily able to tell that they were Puck, Rachel and Beth, "who are these people?" Rachel asked curiously.

"That's us, silly! You, me and daddy," Beth explained pointing to them. "Do you think daddy will like the card?"

"I think he'll love it!" Rachel replied, closing the card and seeing on the back was a bed red heart and her name written in the center.

Beth grinned and took the card back from her and put it into her bag, "awesome!"

"How about we go home and you can give it to him?" Rachel suggested.

"Okay!" Beth nodded, hugging Rachel again.

Rachel returned her hug, giving her a kiss on the cheek, before taking her hand and walking them towards the parking lot. Once the two were in the car and buckled in, Rachel started the car and headed out of the parking lot.

On the drive home, Beth told Rachel about school; what they did and what homework she had and explained that because it was raining during their normal recess, they didn't get to go outside, giving her the free time to make Puck's card.

Pulling up to the curb in front of the Puckerman's, where she usually parked, Rachel and Beth got out and Beth headed for the front door, but waited for Rachel, "is he asleep?"

"I don't know. He wasn't when I left, but he might have fallen asleep while I was gone," Rachel replied.

Beth reached up and turned the knob, pushing the door open and quietly stepped in, peeking into the living room to see Puck stretched out on the couch, snuggled into his blanket, but one hand was out, holding the TV remote. Dropping her bag where she usually left it, she took her jacket off, dug his card out of her bag and walked over to him, "hey daddy!"

"Hey kiddo, have a good day at school?" Puck asked, looking up when he saw her.

"Yeah, I did," Beth paused to take a seat next to him on the couch, "I made you a card," she said, holding it out to him.

"You did?" He took it and and smiled when he saw 'Daddy' written on the front. Pulling his other arm out from under the blanket, he wrapped it around Beth and pulled her closer to him, as he opened it up to read the message inside. His eyes landed on the stick figures and smiled, "are these people us?" He asked, motioning around to the three of them.

"Yep!" Beth nodded.

"This is an awesome card, kiddo. I love it," he told her, closing it and seeing the back of it, too, "thank you."

"Welcome," Beth smiled and leaned over, kissing him on the cheek, "I wanted to help make you feel better. I don't like seeing you sick."

Puck smiled at her response, "I don't like being sick, either, but this definitely makes me feel better," he explained.

Beth grinned and turned to hug him, "I'm glad."

Rachel moved to take a seat next to Beth and Puck, "told you he'd love it," she said with a grin, "now why don't we go get you a snack and then I'll help you with your homework," Rachel told Beth.

"Okay," Beth stood up and held out her hand for Rachel.

Leaning forward, she pressed a kiss to Puck's forehead, "do you need anything?"

"Nah, I'm good," he replied.

"Okay. Be back in a few minutes," she said, standing up and taking Beth's hand.

...

Heading into the kitchen, Rachel got Beth a small snack and then the two settled in the living room near the couch, so Beth could get her homework done and Rachel helped her when she needed it. While they were working, Puck fell asleep and slept until after dinner, finally giving in and going upstairs to his and Rachel's room to get comfortable in bed. His stomach was still bothering him and he still had a fever, but was starting to feel better.

As the evening wore on, Puck dozed in bed, while the rest of the house did their normal evening activities, but this time, Rachel helped Beth get ready for bed and Beth said 'goodnight' to Puck in his and Rachel's room, and then Rachel tucked her into bed and sang her a song, unlike normal when Puck and Rachel would tuck Beth in together.

Just after eight-thirty, Rachel finally joined her fiancé in their room, "are you feeling any better?" She asked, changing into her pajamas.

He shrugged, "yeah, a little. I still feel like I want to throw up every time I move a lot, but I think my fever is either gone, or at least lower than it was before."

"Well, it's a start," Rachel agreed, crawling under the blankets with him.

"It is," he nodded, rolling onto his side to look at her, "you did pretty good today, you know, taking care of Beth."

"Your mom and Arin helped, too," Rachel replied.

"Yeah, but you did a lot. You took her to school, picked her up, helped her with her homework, got her snacks, entertained her, helped her get ready for bed and tucked her in. You're mastering being a mom," he grinned.

Rachel eyed him for a moment, thinking about what he said and then smiled, "yeah, I guess I see your point. I don't really see it as work. I love spending time with her," she explained, "can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Okay first, don't get me wrong, I love what we've done; me moving in here, but I just got to thinking the other day about something. How come we never thought about you and Beth moving into my place?"

Puck thought about what she asked, "well, mom and Arin are kind of a package deal with Beth and I, to be honest. If mom hadn't invited you to move in here, I would have. Beth and I are really close with mom and Arin and I wouldn't want to take her away. I know we'd still be living close, but Beth is used to them being in the next bedroom. Now, with what just happened with Judy, I think it's even more important to be here together. I don't want Beth to think we're taking her other grandma away, too, you know? Besides that, my grandma had this place paid off before she died and she left it to mom, so aside from utilities and other bills, it's almost free living here," he explained.

"I didn't know that. That makes sense and I really understand. I was just curious," Rachel admitted, "I actually like living this way. It's nice to have a mom and sister around. I never had either of them growing up."

"Well, I'm happy to share them with you," he replied with a grin.

She smiled, "thanks. I'm happy to be part of the family," she bit her lip, "I really want to kiss you right now."

He laughed lightly, "yeah, I know I'm irresistible," he winked at her.

"Noah, I'm being serious," she sighed, rolling onto her back.

Puck slid closer to her and draped his arm over her chest, "I know you do. I want to kiss you, too. I could, but I'd rather not share any more germs with you than I already have," he admitted.

"I know," Rachel nodded, sitting up a little to press a kiss to his cheek, "it sucks that you're sick. I'll just keep kissing your cheek and forehead until you're feeling better," she explained, "I love you."

Reaching up, he brushed his hand along her cheek, "love you, too, babe. Night."

"Goodnight, Noah," she replied, settling back down into her pillows and watching as he laid back and got comfortable, then slid closer to him, but didn't snuggle up right to him, in case he had to get up during the night; she didn't want him to have to move her first.

Puck tugged the blankets up over them further and tried to relax, watching Rachel get settled in, then reached to turn the light off and closed his eyes, hoping his stomach was done being sick and he could feel better in the morning.

...

A/N5: Sorry it's taking so long to update, but I have had some personal things going on that I've been dealing with, so it took longer to get things written and edited. Out of the Blue and Starlight will be a while for updates. I don't have anything written on them yet, but I hope too soon... I feel horrible, guys. I don't get a lot of reviews when I do update and sadly, I know I've lost readers. Please review if you can to let me know you still like the story. Those who do review, I appreciate it so much. Your reviews help me out a lot!

Myself, and my fics: 'Out of the Blue', 'Starlight', 'Leave Out All The Rest' and 'Fly Me To The Moon' have been nominated in the Puckleberry Awards on LJ and Tumblr. Thank you all so much! Love you all! When I know about voting, I'll let you know!

I'd like to share my crafts with my awesome readers. Is anyone interested in friendship bracelets? I will be setting up my Etsy shop here soon, but for now, I'm selling my crafts word of mouth and one of them is a wave bracelet like Mark Salling's. The bracelet I'm talking about is the black, red, yellow and green one he wears almost all the time. I figured out how to make it and I posted a picture of one in similar colors here: ( ej8302 . tumblr . com / post / 8288256823 ). Yes, I know the meaning of his bracelet colors (I will let you know about them if you'd like one). I can make the bracelets in any color (3-5 colors/bracelet work the best). Here ( ej8302 . tumblr . com / post / 7752014106 ) on my tumblr is another color version. When you buy a wave bracelet, you'll get a matching spiral or 'Chinese Staircase' bracelet in up to 4 colors. Don't feel obligated, just throwing this out there. Let me know if you're interested.

...


	11. Chapter 11

Title: Returning Home, Part 11/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

A/N3: AU after 1x13 ~ Sectionals.

A/N4: Puck and Rachel were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

...

Being really sick on Monday, Puck was feeling a little better Tuesday and insisted Rachel return to work. She didn't like knowing he was sick and going to work, but she gave in and went after dropping Beth off at school.

Talking to Burt on the phone, he told Puck not to hurry back to work; he was still sick himself, but wasn't contagious anymore, so he and Finn were covering the shop, since they weren't very busy. Puck didn't like leaving them in a bind, but he was nowhere near ready to go back to work, so he took the whole week off, using up some of the large amount of sick leave he'd built up over the years he'd worked there, knowing it was different leave than the vacation time he was using when they went on their trip in a few weeks.

Tuesday, Puck was able to keep fluids and some light food down and that evening, while everyone ate dinner, he sipped on chicken soup, because he didn't want to chance anything just yet.

Living in the same house, it was inevitable that others would get sick. Arin and Deborah had done their best to steer clear of Puck, but Rachel and Beth were both around him more, and by Tuesday evening, Rachel was feverish and feeling sick. Puck felt horrible that she was showing signs of being sick, but both of them expected her to get sick. They weren't sure how long it would take for her to really get sick, so they went to bed and by three-am Wednesday morning, Rachel was sick to her stomach and in the bathroom.

Holding her hair back with one hand, Puck reached for a washcloth and wet it in the sink, glad it was nearby and handed it to her when she sat back on the floor, "would you like me to get you anything?" He asked softly.

Rachel took the cloth and wiped her mouth, then nodded, "some water," she murmured, "please."

Nodding he moved to the sink again, this time filling up one of their small disposable cups with some water and returned to her, "sip on this while I go down and get a bottle of water," he explained.

"Thanks," she smiled, taking the cup, "when you were sick did it feel like your insides were all knotted up?"

"Oh yeah," he nodded, his stomach doing flip flops, "I'm still not over this," he admitted, "but better than I was," he opened up the medicine cabinet and pulled out the Tylenol, "let's try and get a few of these in you soon so they can start on your fever. Do you think you'll be able to keep them down."

"Not right now. I don't think I'm done in here yet," she replied.

Puck nodded and walked over to her, kneeling down next to her, "okay. I'll be right back. Are you sure you don't want anything else?" He asked softly.

She shrugged, "whatever you think will be okay on my stomach," she admitted.

"Alright," he pressed a kiss to her warm forehead and stood up, leaving the bathroom and quietly headed downstairs and grabbed a bottle of water and Gatorade, returning just a few minutes later to hear the toilet flush. Setting the bottles on her nightstand, he moved into the bathroom and found her rinsing her mouth out, "feel better?" He asked.

"A little," she admitted, turning around and wrapping her arms around him.

Puck hugged her, rubbing her back gently, "come on, let's get you back to bed," he murmured, guiding them back into their room.

Rachel let him lead and when they got back to bed, she crawled onto her side and reached for the water bottle, "can you get me the Tylenol now? I probably will be able to keep it down for a while," she said.

Without hesitation, Puck went and got what she asked for and returned, sliding into bed next to her and handed her the small bottle, "here you go."

"Thanks," she replied, taking a moment to get out what she needed and washed the pills down with some water.

Settling into the pillows, Puck opened his arms to her and she took the hint, snuggling up next to him. Pulling up the blankets, he kissed her forehead, "I'm sorry your sick."

"It's okay. We expected it. I just hope the rest of the house doesn't get it," she murmured.

He took a deep breath and nodded, "yeah, me too. I think mom and Arin will probably luck out, I hope, but I figure by the end of the week Beth will have this, too."

Rachel sighed, "I hate for her to get it, but she's younger and her immune system isn't as strong, so I can understand that."

Puck nodded, "just relax and sleep. We'll talk in the morning," he murmured.

"Okay," she nodded, closing her eyes and relaxing, "love you."

"I love you, too, babe, even when you're sick," he winked at her, rubbing her back.

...

Getting only a few more hours of sleep, their alarm went off at six and Rachel curled back into bed when Puck crawled out to go help out in the house. He passed on the news that Rachel got sick during the night and Arin and Deborah assured him that they'd take care of things so he and Rachel could get better, since he still wasn't feeling the greatest.

Beth was sad that Rachel was sick, but Puck explained it and promised she'd be felling better in a few days, and she understood that, seeing that he was better after a couple of days of really being sick.

Deborah planned to take Beth to school and Arin would pick her up after school, so Puck and Rachel didn't have to worry about it and Puck returned to bed when his mom, sister and daughter left. When Puck go back into bed, Rachel called into work for the next few days, knowing she wouldn't be over what she had in a day and her boss told her not to come back until Monday, so she and her boyfriend snuggled up together and went back to sleep.

Waking up just an hour later when Rachel got sick to her stomach, Puck followed her to the bathroom and helped where he could; holding her hair from getting into her face, rubbing her back gently, getting a towel to clean up with or getting something to drink.

"You were only sick like this for the first day," she murmured, "maybe I should just sleep in the bathroom."

Puck smirked and shook his head, "no you shouldn't, babe. The floor isn't very warm or comfortable to sleep on," he explained.

With a sigh, she used the towel to wipe her mouth and hands and carefully stood up, rinsing her mouth out like she had done earlier, "I guess you're right."

"Bed is the best place for you," he smiled at her, slipping an arm around her back and legs and swiftly lifted her up, carrying her back to bed and carefully laying her down.

Rachel smiled, a light blush growing her cheeks, "you didn't have to do that," she commented, "but thanks."

"You're welcome," he kissed her forehead, "you should get something on that's a little warmer than that t-shirt you're wearing, even if I love that I can see through it," he winked.

Rachel glanced down at realized what she had on, "oh, yeah," she giggled, "could you get me a sweatshirt from my closet?"

"Sure, any specific one?" He asked, moving over to it.

"Not really. I don't have many sweatshirts, but there are a few NYU ones in there you could grab," she replied.

Puck glanced over her clothes and landed on a gray one with NYU printed on the front in black letters, so he pulled it off the hanger and held it up, "how's this?"

"Perfect," she nodded, sitting up and taking it from him, slipping it on, "I'll put on some other pants later," she added, "now could you get me my laptop?" She wondered, "since I'm home sick, I could research plans for Santana's baby shower, so I don't have to wait until this weekend," she admitted, "it is a week from Saturday."

"Why don't you hold off until tomorrow to start that. Give yourself a day to relax," he suggested.

Rachel thought for a moment and nodded, "okay, you're right. Can you stay here?"

"Where would I be going?" He wondered, crawling under the blankets next to her.

"I thought you might go downstairs and watch TV or something," she added.

"Oh, well, I did think about it, but if you're up here, I'd be happy to stay here with you," he admitted, smiling at her, "I wanna take care of my girl."

"Thanks," she smiled, moving closer to him, "we have the house to ourselves and I wish I was feeling better so we could do more, but I'm not," she admitted with a blush.

Puck grinned kissing her forehead, "trust me, I was thinking the same thing."

...

The couple stayed in bed all day and Puck only left the room when he went to get something for one of them or help Rachel when she got sick to her stomach. When Arin and Beth got home from school, Beth came into their room to see them, but Rachel was asleep, so Puck suggested he help her with her homework downstairs and they could come back and see Rachel when she was awake.

Like for Puck, Beth had made Rachel a card and wanted to give it to her, so Puck promised she could when she was done with her homework, so she was determined to focus on it to get it done and did most of it herself, with Puck only helping a few times.

Rachel had woken up and after spending some time in the bathroom, couldn't stand being in bed any longer, so she dressed warmly and came downstairs, just as Beth finished up her homework, "mommy!" Beth grinned, jumping up and running over to her.

Smiling at Beth, she hugged her, "hey sweetheart, did you have a good day at school?"

"It was okay," she shrugged, taking her hand and guiding her over to the couch.

Taking a seat next to Puck, she smiled at him, "hey."

"Hey, feeling any better?" He asked, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"No," she replied.

"You will in a few days," he assured her.

Beth got Rachel's card out of her bag and moved to sit next to her, "I made this for you," she explained.

Rachel took the folded paper from her and smiled, seeing a similarly decorated card to the one she'd make Puck, but this one said 'I love you, mommy' on the front and 'get well soon' on the inside. "Oh Beth this is wonderful," Rachel smiled, hugging her tightly, unable to hold back the tears that fell from her eyes; it was the first real 'mommy' card she'd gotten, so even though she was sick, it still warmed her heart, "I love you, too," she added.

Puck saw Rachel's tears and briefly thought she was upset, but then it hit him and he pressed a kiss to her forehead, "first mom thing?" He asked softly.

"Yes," Rachel nodded, "we've been talking about it, and she's been calling me mom, but it's the first time I've gotten something that says mommy," she admitted, looking at Beth. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Beth replied, smiling brightly.

"I may be sick, but being a mom still makes me extremely happy and I'm so glad you guys have let me into your lives," Rachel commented, looking at Puck and Beth.

"And we're glad you're here and willing to stay," Puck said, kissing Rachel on the cheek.

"Definitely!" Beth nodded in agreement.

...

Still feeling sick, but being a little more cheery because of Beth's card, Rachel joined everyone for dinner and she and Puck sipped on chicken soup while the others ate their meal. After dinner, Rachel and Puck curled up on the couch under a blanket, but Rachel got sick again and decided she should go back to bed, so both of them went back to their room. Since Puck was feeling a bit better, he helped Beth get ready for bed and she said 'goodnight' to Rachel from Puck and Rachel's bedroom. Guiding her into her room, Puck pulled Beth's blankets back and let her crawl in, laying the blanket over her, "alright, bed time for you," he commented.

"When are you and mommy going to feel better?" She asked.

"Soon. I'm starting to feel better, but it'll be a few days for mom to get better. Why?"

She shrugged, "I just like it when you both tuck me in," she admitted.

"Ah, I see," he smiled at her, "things will be back to normal soon," he promised, "we just gotta give our bodies some time to get better."

"Okay. Good," she wrapped her arms around one of her stuffed animals, "because I don't like it when you guys are sick."

He nodded and kissed her forehead, "we don't like it either," he admitted, "goodnight, sleep well and we'll see you in the morning."

"Night, daddy. Love you," she smiled, settling into her pillows.

Puck got up, "love you, too, kiddo," he replied, moving towards her door. Flipping her light out, he stepped into the hallway and closed it quietly, then walked into his and Rachel's room and stretched out on the be next to Rachel, "hey, baby. How you feeling?"

Rachel shrugged, "my stomach doesn't seem to be as upset, but that could just be because I'm not moving around," she admitted.

"Probably," he agreed, "but I think the day I was really sick to my stomach, it started settling down by that evening, so you might be through the worst of it."

"I hope so. I hate being sick," she murmured, curling up next to him.

"Me too and like I just told Beth, things will be back to normal soon," he explained, kissing her forehead.

"Very true," she agreed, her body pulling her into sleep.

Puck rubbed her back and let her nod off, knowing she needed the rest and he wasn't far from sleep himself.

...

With both Puck and Rachel being sick, Deborah and Arin were giving them the freedom to sleep and rest as much as possible, so in the morning, they didn't even wake them up while they, along with Beth, were getting ready for their day on Thursday. Because Puck and Rachel still were not awake when they were leaving, Beth left a note on Puck's night stand that said she loved them and hoped they felt better.

Waking up that morning, Puck glanced at the clock and saw it was almost nine. "Wow," he muttered. They'd woken up around midnight and crawled into bed a little more comfortably, from the position they'd been in, on top of the blankets, and drifted off to to sleep again.

Rachel felt him moving and opened her eyes, looking around, "oh my!" She gasped, sitting up, "I can't believe we slept that long!"

"Me either," he admitted, reaching out and picking up the folded piece of paper by the clock and opened it, reading his mom's handwriting on the top, "mom says not to worry, she and Arin will take care of things and we should rest," he told her, then smiled, reading the larger kid writing at the bottom saying 'I love you daddy and mommy. Hope you feel better!' "Beth added to mom's note, too," he said, handing it to her.

Taking the paper, she read over it and smiled, "she's so adorable."

"Yeah, she is, but I'm not looking forward to her being a teenager," he groaned.

"Oh, Noah, she'll be fine," Rachel assured him.

"Being 'fine' is the problem. It's the other meaning of it, I'm worried about. I don't know what I'll do the day she comes home with a boyfriend. I'm seriously thinking of forbidding her from dating," he admitted, sitting up and rubbing his face.

"You can't do that. The more you forbid her to do something, the more she will want to go behind your back. It's best to let her know she needs to be careful and what could happen, and hope she's mature and smart enough to know what not to do," Rachel explained.

Puck sighed, "yeah, I know," he shook his head, "but thankfully we have a few years before we have to worry about that," he added, standing up and taking his shirt off, "I don't know about you, but I am going to shower. I haven't felt good enough to even think about a shower for a few days, so I need one. You want to join me?"

"Um, maybe I'll take one later. I'm hungry," she admitted, "so I think I'll go have some apple sauce and toast."

"Alright. I'll be down in a while," he replied, leaning back over the bed and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"I can't wait until we're both over this and we can really kiss again," she murmured.

"Same here," he agreed.

...

Rachel moved down to the kitchen and started to gather up the items for her breakfast and just as her toast popped up, she felt sick to her stomach and dashed off to the bathroom, thankfully making it in time. "_I thought I was over this!_" She thought, wiping her mouth off with some tissue. Sitting for a moment, she let her stomach settle and it seemed to relax, so she got up and headed back to the kitchen, hungry, "I need to eat something," she said, grabbing the toast and then the small cup of apple sauce and sat down at the table to eat.

Being careful that she didn't get an upset stomach from eating too fast, she ate the toast and apple sauce and once she got some food in her, she felt a lot better and was sipping on some orange Gatorade when Puck walked into the kitchen, "sorry if you lost water pressure while you were in the shower," she murmured.

"I did, but it's okay. You alright?" He asked.

She sighed, "I threw up again, but I needed to eat. Now that I have something in my stomach, I feel better."

"That's good. Everyone gets over this differently, so that may hang with you a few more days longer than me," Puck said, kissing her head before sitting down.

"Yeah, I know. I'm starting to feel better, like I don't seem to have a fever anymore or anything like that, but it's just my stomach," she admitted.

...

After eating a light meal, Puck and Rachel moved into the living room and spent the next few hours watching TV and talking. She was not tired, so by two, she went upstairs to shower and Puck relaxed, but called to check on things at the shop. He felt like he could return to work the next day, but Burt and Finn were okay with him taking the weekend and coming back on Monday, so he agreed.

Rachel joined him and it wasn't long before Arin and Beth were coming home from school. "You guys look like you're feeling better," Arin commented, motioning upstairs, where Beth had just gone, "because her teacher met me after school and said the last few hours she didn't seem like she was her usual self. On the way home, I felt her head and she seems warm, so I told her to go put some comfortable and warm clothes on."

The couple exchanged glances and sighed, expecting Beth to get sick, but hoping she'd slip past it, "thanks Arin," Puck said.

"No problem," Arin nodded, moving into the kitchen.

Puck and Rachel stood up and headed upstairs to Beth's room, just as she was laying down on her bed, "hey, kiddo. Arin says you're not feeling good," he commented, stepping inside and taking a seat on the edge of her bed.

Beth shrugged, "I don't know. Arin said I was warm so I had a fever, but I don't feel bad, just tired," she replied, "am I getting sick?"

"You might be. That's how dad and I started getting sick," Rachel admitted.

"If I get sick, do I get to stay home with you?" Beth asked.

"You do," Puck nodded, "both of us are home for a few more days."

...

Taking Beth's temperature, they found she had the start of a fever and though Beth wasn't feeling too bad, just tired, her family tried to get some kids Tylenol in her early to hopefully catch some of the fever so it wouldn't get as bad.

Eating a light dinner, Beth went to bed right after and Puck and Rachel checked on her every once and a while to make sure she was still okay. She'd fallen asleep and around nine she woke up sick to her stomach and went to get her parents and soon they were helping her out and tucking her back into bed.

Rachel sighed, "I feel horrible that she's sick," she murmured, climbing back into their bed.

"Yeah, me too, but we expected it," Puck agreed, joining Rachel and pulling the blankets over them.

"Even so, she wasn't around us a whole lot. If she's sick, I imagine your mom and sister will get sick, too," Rachel replied.

"Maybe. They've done a pretty good job of keeping their distance. Hopefully Beth will end the cycle," he commented.

"Hopefully. Now if we could just figure out why I keep throwing up, that'd be great," she added.

"If you're still feeling like crap and throwing up, maybe you should go to the doctor on Monday. Talk to mom, maybe she has a suggestion, too," he explained.

Rachel nodded, "yeah, I'll do that."

...

Missing a day of school, Beth spent the day curled up under blankets on the couch watching cartoons and kids shows; her fever had gotten a little higher during the night, but wasn't too high. She was still sick to her stomach a lot and she was aware of the feeling early enough that she was able to make it to the bathroom in time and Puck or Rachel would help her out.

Rachel was still throwing up herself, but once she got some food into her stomach, her nausea went away and she seemed to feel better, so she figured it was just the flu bug.

Since Rachel hadn't talked to her dads most of the week because she was sick, she called them that evening and they talked for a couple hours about their week; something the three Berrys always tried to do because of their weekday schedules. The two men had not gotten sick, so though they were planning to come up that weekend, Rachel suggested they didn't, since Beth was sick and she would feel terrible if they got sick from being over at the house.

They agreed with Puck's suggestion for Rachel to go to the doctor if she continued to throw up and she promised them first thing Monday morning she'd make an appointment.

The weekend was spent much like it had been during the week; quiet and relaxing. Puck and Rachel stayed pretty mellow and took care of Beth while Arin and Deborah went to the grocery store to pick up some food and fixings for Tuesday, the first night of Hanukkah and the Berrys and Puckermans were going to spend it together.

Beth was feeling better by Saturday afternoon and her upset stomach was mostly gone, but she was still careful about what she ate and by Sunday she was back to normal, just like Puck and so was Rachel, except for some nausea when she had an empty stomach, so she finally had a chance to talk to Deborah after dinner that night.

The nurse and mom in Deborah agreed that Rachel should go to the doctor and see what was going on, because it wasn't exactly normal to throw up like she had been. She told her she had an idea why Rachel was having issues, but didn't want to worry her for nothing and Rachel promised the next day, as soon as her doctor's office opened, she would call and try to get in.

...

Deborah and Arin managed to make it through the weekend without catching the bug that Puck, Rachel and Beth had. Monday morning, the house was extra busy because everyone was up, getting ready for their day. Rachel called her boss and told her what was going on, and she also agreed Rachel should get to the doctor. Having to throw up again that morning, Rachel was definitely ready to find out what was wrong, because she was tired of it.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Puck asked.

"I'm sure, Noah. It's just a doctor's appointment. I don't even know if I'll be able to get in today. It's pretty short notice, but they might have a cancellation," Rachel admitted.

"Alright," Puck kissed her, "so nice to be able to do that again," he smiled.

Rachel nodded in agreement, "yes it is," she replied, hugging him, "now go on before you guys are late," she added, pulling away and hugging Beth.

Beth returned Rachel's hug, "feel better, mommy," she said.

"I already do," Rachel grinned, "I love you both."

"Love you, too!" Beth smiled as the pulled away.

"I totally agree," Puck added, "if you need me, don't hesitate to call."

"I won't," she promised, kissing him once more.

Deborah and Arin had already left the house, and Rachel followed Beth and Puck outside, waving at them as he pulled his SUV away from the curb and Beth waved back at her.

Once they were out of sight, Rachel took a deep breath and stepped inside, alone with her own thoughts. She was trying not to worry about the cause of her problem and Deborah assured her it was not life-threatening, but she still couldn't shake the fear that grew.

Just after eight-am, Rachel called her doctor's office and sat on hold for a few moments. When the scheduler picked up, Rachel gave her the information she needed and told her why she was trying to get into see her doctor, the scheduler looking at the calendar, "how soon can you get in here?" The woman asked.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked curiously.

"I literally just canceled an eight-thirty appointment. I don't know how far away you live, but if you can make it, you can have that one. If not, Dr. Wilson is booked the rest of the day, but I could get you in tomorrow," she admitted.

"I'll take the eight-thirty," Rachel said, "I don't live far," she added.

"Great! I'll put you in for it," she told her.

"Thank you," Rachel said, hanging up the phone. Taking a deep breath, she sighed, but got up, double checking a few things before grabbing her bag and heading for the door. Leaving the house, Rachel knew she would be cutting it close, but hoped with the early hour, the traffic would be minimal.

Making it in record time, she still had a few minutes she could sit in her car and think about what she was going to tell the doctor. "_You're going to be fine, Rachel. Just stay calm. In just a little while you should know what's wrong with you,_" she thought, taking a few calming breaths and then slid out of her car and walked into the office.

Going up to the second floor, she checked in and only had to wait a few minutes before the nurse called her back and after getting Rachel's weight, blood pressure and temperature, the nurse excused herself and promised the doctor would be in shortly.

Sitting there waiting, Rachel bit her lip, doing her best to keep calm, "_what could it be? I can't believe it's just the flu still. I don't have a fever and Noah and Beth are both okay now and Beth got sick after me,_" she thought, jumping when there was a knock on the door.

Moments later, Rachel's doctor, Dr. Colleen Wilson, stepped into the room, "hello, Rachel. What seems to bring you in today?" She asked, taking a seat on the stool across from her patient.

Rachel took a deep breath, "well, a lot has changed since I last saw you, but last week I had the flu and I don't have a fever anymore, and I feel fine, except I keep throwing up. My boyfriend's mom is a nurse and she told me I should probably get into see you, so here I am."

"Throwing up isn't any fun. When were you sick, exactly?" Dr. Wilson asked.

For a few moments, Rachel explained when Puck, her and Beth were sick, and how they were both fine, and she was the only one with lingering side effects of the flu, which added in a quick explanation of how she reconnected with him and what was going on in her life.

The doctor listened to Rachel and took some notes, then thought for a moment, "when did you start your last menstrual cycle?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Rachel wondered, thinking back, "uh, I think November fifteenth."

"Okay. It could be nothing, but it could be everything. I'm going to order a full panel of blood work and also will need a urine sample," she said, picking up a paper, filling in some information and handing it to her, "just give this to them in the lab, they'll get what I need and then come back up here and check in with the nurse and then we'll talk more," she told her.

"Uh, okay," Rachel said, "so that's it? Just lab work and then talking? You don't need to do an exam?"

"Not at the moment. Since it's your stomach, there isn't much I can do without ruling out a bunch of things, so we'll start with the lab work and go from there," she explained.

"Alright," Rachel nodded, sliding off the exam table.

...

Heading down to the main level of the clinic, Rachel went to the lab area and gave them what her doctor ordered, some blood and also a urine sample. Returning to her doctor's office, the nurse took her into the doctor's personal office and had her sit down opposite the woman's desk and wait, which gave her plenty of time to think and worry about what could be wrong, "_she needed to know when I last started my period,_" she thought, biting her lip, "_and it could mean nothing, but it could mean everything... What did she... Does she... Could I be pregnant? Is that what Deborah was thinking, but didn't want to worry me if it was nothing?_" Rachel eyes widened at the thought, "_I'm only sick in the... Mornings! Oh my! Why didn't I think of that?_" She wondered, trying to relax as she waited for her doctor to return.

It didn't take long for Rachel's doctor to arrive, carrying her tablet PC and reading over Rachel's results, "well, I've ruled out several things, but we definitely need to talk," she said, sitting down at her desk and hooking her PC into the keyboard dock.

Rachel bit her lip, "am I pregnant?" She asked nervously.

The doctor took a deep breath and nodded, "yes, you are. Congratulations," she smiled.

"Thanks," Rachel murmured, feeling tears in her eyes, "I never even thought about that. Noah and I have talked about having another child, but I never expected it to be now. How... How is this possible? Well, I know how it happened, but I'm on birth control. I was going to stop it soon, so we could try, but I hadn't yet."

Dr. Wilson nodded in agreement, "I know. Plenty of women get pregnant while they're on it. You could have accidentally forgotten a pill one day or it had been been right after your cycle, before you started on the actual pill again. Or it could have just happened while you were on it. I don't know exactly, but what I can tell you is you're only two or three weeks pregnant, and getting the flu was just a fluke, which masked the morning sickness until you got over the flu," she explained.

Rachel reached for a tissue and wiped her eyes, smiling, "I'm pregnant. I can't wait to tell Noah," she replied, taking a deep breath, "so, what now?"

"Well, looking at your blood work I do have back, you are a bit dehydrated, but that's probably from the flu, so just drink a few extra glasses of water and that will help that. There are some other tests and I'll have the results tomorrow, but for now I'm going to write you a prescription for some prenatal vitamins and an anti-nausea medication that will help with the morning sickness. Stop taking the birth control and as you know, I'm also an obstetrician and gynecologist, so you can continue to see me throughout your pregnancy and if nothing goes wrong, I'd like to see you in January for a check-up. Also, I estimate that you're due in August, too. Do you have any questions for me?" She asked, writing out what she was telling Rachel about.

"Well, we're supposed to fly to California in a few weeks. We're going to Disneyland for Winter Break. Is that going to be okay? To fly?" Rachel asked.

"Oh yes. That will be fine. You may have issues on some of the rides; like getting motion sickness, but I'll give you something that will help with flying and that," she explained, writing out something else. Standing up and moving over to a file cabinet, she opened one of the drawers and pulled out a few pamphlets and then returned to her desk, this time taking a seat next to Rachel, "so, here are some things to look over. Things to look for during each stage of pregnancy and what we'll discuss in the office. It's not too much detail, but it gives you and Noah an idea of what to look for. There is one with good websites and books to look at for pregnancies, and also talking to friends and family members who have been pregnant is great, too. I know you don't have your biological mother in your life, but it sounds like you have a good relationship with Noah's mom, so I'm sure she'd be happy to talk to you about anything you need," she told her, reaching for her prescriptions and a card, she handed them to Rachel, "here's your prescriptions and also a card I only give to my pregnant patients. It's got my direct line to this phone," she motioned to the one on her desk, "and my cell phone. If you have any issues day or night, feel free to call or text me and I'll do anything I can to help; even if it's just to answer a question."

Rachel took all the items and looked at the card, nodding, "thank you. Yes, I do have a great relationship with Noah's mom, and one of our friends from high school is pregnant right now, so I can talk to both of them, but I appreciate this. I'm sure I'll have a ton of questions and definitely will be looking at these websites and books," she agreed, smiling at her. "I... I'm pregnant," Rachel smiled, looking down at her flat stomach, "wow... Um... Can we still um..." She blushed, unsure how to ask it.

The doctor grinned, "yes, you can still have intercourse. Just be careful," she told her.

"Okay," she relaxed.

...

Thanking her doctor, Rachel left the clinic after making an appointment in January and then headed to the local pharmacy to fill her prescriptions. Getting her items, Rachel debated going right home, but decided to head to the large bookstore and pick up a few of the books that the information pamphlet suggested. It was the holiday season, so the store was busy, but getting to the section for women's health and pregnancy, it wasn't as crowded. Looking at the list, she skimmed over the names of the books and landed on a few that were suggested and she picked them up, comparing them. She realized they had most of the same information and remembered one of the titles, 'What To Expect When You're Expecting', was mentioned when the Glee Club first found out that Quinn was pregnant, so she went with just getting that one, figuring it was at least a place to start.

Paying for her purchases, she saw what time it was, so she headed home and had some lunch, then sat down in the living room and cracked her book open to read the first few chapters on early pregnancy. When three o'clock rolled around, she took her book and medications up to her and Noah's room, so no one saw it until she had a chance to tell her fiancé.

About three-fifteen, the front door opened and Puck and Beth came inside, "baby, we're home!" Puck called out.

Rachel moved to greet them, smiling, "hey guys, I missed you," she said, hugging Beth and kissing her forehead, then wrapped her arms around Puck and whispered in his ear, "we need to talk."

Pulling away from the hug, he eyed her, "uh, okay. Our room?" He asked.

"Yeah," she nodded, "Beth, there's a snack on the table for you. I'm gonna go help dad change out of his work clothes," she said.

"Okay," Beth nodded, and skipped into the kitchen.

Rachel took Puck's hand and led him upstairs and into her room, unable to keep her news quiet any longer. She wasn't nervous to tell him, she was excited and even though she was still shocked, she knew he'd love the news, just as much as she did.

"So what's up? Did you get to your doctor today?" He asked, closing the door behind them.

Before Rachel responded, she pulled him into a loving kiss and wrapped her arms around him tightly, "yes, I did get to the doctor," she nodded, stepping back a few feet to pick up the book, "and then I went to get us something to read," she added, holding the book up to him.

"What to expect when you're expecting... Expecting what?" He asked, and then his eyes widened, "are you... you're pregnant?" He gasped.

Rachel nodded, "I'm pregnant!"

...

A/N5: What do you think? *grins* I'm excited for this. Next chapter will be letting everyone know. I'm not going to have Beth find out for a while, for certain reasons, but she won't be kept in the dark too long. Hope you guys liked! Review and let me know!

A/N6: So sorry it's been so long since I last updated, but this time I did it on purpose. One of my awesome readers, who has become a best friend to me, has her birthday on 9/26, so as a birthday present, I wanted to wait and update all my fics for her birthday... Happy Birthday, PKteach!

A/N7: Still making bracelets and other crafts. If you're interested, let me know!

...


	12. Chapter 12

Title: Returning Home, Part 12/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

A/N3: AU after 1x13 ~ Sectionals.

A/N4: Puck and Rachel were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

...

Puck's mouth fell open in shock for a moment, then he sobered enough to focus, "you're pregnant?" He asked again, and at Rachel's nod, he took a deep breath, "how? Well, I mean, I know _how_, but I thought you hadn't stopped taking the _pill_ yet..."

"I hadn't," she told him, "my doctor says it's not uncommon. I'm very particular about taking it daily, but like she said, I may not have been taking the actual pill yet and still taking placebos when it happened," she explained, trying not to look too nervous, but she was worried about his reaction, "I know we have talked about having another child, but we didn't think it'd be this soon and we're not married yet, but we're having a baby and I'm only a few weeks along and my doctor says I'm due in August..."

Knowing she was nervously rambling, Puck leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips to stop her from talking and when she relaxed, he pulled back and smiled brightly, "Rachel, this is amazing news," he told her honestly.

"It is? You're okay with it even though we're not married yet?" She wondered nervously.

Wrapping his arms around her, he lifted her up so she was eye level with him and grinned, "I'm more than okay with this. We're having a baby together, our family is going to have another child and I'm engaged to the woman I love; I'm a very, very happy man."

Rachel sighed in relief and threw her arms around his neck, "I was worried you'd think it was too soon," she kissed him lovingly, "but I'm so glad you don't. I feel the same way you do. I'm so excited and happy! I love you."

"I love you, too, babe," he replied, smiling at her, "so now what?" He asked softly, carefully putting her back down on her feet.

"Well, not much. My doctor gave me some prescriptions for vitamins, anti-nausea pills and some motion-sickness medications for our trip and she wants to see me in January, so I made an appointment while I was there. She also gave me a list of books and websites to look at, which is why I went and got that book. I was thinking we could hold off on telling everyone, like our friends, for a while. We could tell our parents and Arin, maybe tomorrow night, since my dads are coming up for Hanukkah, but I think we should wait to tell Beth until we're in California, or when we get back," she said, "I just don't want her to find out and think we're trying to replace her or something," she said softly, biting her lip.

Puck nodded, "yeah, I get ya. Kids take things differently than adults do. We'll wait to tell her. Tomorrow night sounds good to tell my mom, sister and your dads, but how are you going to get around tonight with my mom? She knows you were planning to go to the doctor," he wondered.

"I'll just say that she did some tests and is waiting for the results, that we should have tomorrow. Some of them she ran won't be back until then, anyway, so that's not far from the truth," she explained, "are you okay with not telling our friends until later?"

"Before I say 'yes', why do you want to wait?" He asked curiously.

"Because I think we should, as a family, get used to the idea of me being pregnant first, before we let everyone know. Especially because Saturday is Santana's baby shower, here, and I don't want our news to overshadow her day. I also know that some of our friends from McKinley, like Kurt, Tina, Mercedes and Emma will be here and I haven't seen Tina or Mercedes since I left McKinley; it'd be a big shock for them to not only see me for the first time, but also find out that we're together, a family and I'm pregnant," she told him, "so after we tell Beth and have had some time to get used to it ourselves, after the new year, we can tell them."

"Okay, then 'yes', I'm okay with waiting to tell everyone," he smiled, "that makes sense and I want our families to know first," he agreed.

"Great!" She kissed him and heard the front door open downstairs, "you better change, so we can go join everyone. Arin's probably home and your mom should be here in a bit, too."

"Yeah," he nodded, pulling her into a tight hug, "I'm so happy baby," he grinned, pulling away and resting a hand on her flat stomach, "we're having a baby!" He said excitedly.

"We are!" She nodded, her hand joining his on her stomach.

...

Taking a moment to let the news settle, Puck changed out of his work clothes and washed up a little, before he and Rachel left their room to find Arin and Beth in the living room watching TV.

"Don't you two have homework?" Puck asked, looking at them.

"Nope!" Beth shook her head.

"No, not today, for once," Arin admitted, "Rachel, did you get to the doctor?"

"Yeah," Rachel nodded, "but I won't know anything until tomorrow. Gotta get the tests back," she explained as calmly as she could.

Arin nodded, "makes sense. They did give you something to settle your stomach, right?"

"She gave me some anti-nausea pills to take. Also gave me something to take when we go on our trip, in case it continues. Since we'll be going on rides and flying," Rachel added.

Arin eyed her for a moment, then glanced at her brother, "well, _if_ you're still sick by the time we go, then you will definitely need something," she admitted, realizing there was something they weren't saying and she had a pretty good idea what it was.

...

Jumping back into their usual routine, Puck, Arin and Rachel started on dinner and when Deborah got home around five, they sat down to eat. With Deborah being a nurse, Rachel wasn't sure how she could hide the news from her, especially when she asked Rachel about her doctor's visit. Like with Arin, Rachel kept her answer short and though Deborah pretended to believe her, the older mom could tell she wasn't saying everything and figured it was because Beth was still around.

After dinner, Puck took Beth into the living room while Rachel, Arin and Deborah cleaned up the kitchen, "you know what's wrong, don't you," Arin asked softly, nudging Rachel with her hip, which caught Deborah's attention.

Rachel glanced between them and blushed, biting her lip and nodding, "yeah, but Noah and I would rather wait a while to let Beth know," she admitted and seeing the exchange of glances between Deborah and Arin, Rachel continued, "let's wait until Beth goes to bed before we continue this conversation."

With the secrecy and the concern for Beth finding out, Arin and Deborah agreed to let the discussion settle and the three went back to cleaning up the kitchen and soon joined Puck and Beth in the living room.

...

Settling in to watch a movie that was on TV, everyone relaxed and when it got close to Beth's bedtime, Rachel helped her get ready for bed and then she and Puck tucked her in, before the couple returned downstairs to a very curious Deborah and Arin.

Rachel and Puck sat down where they had been on the couch and Puck could tell something was up, "what's going on?" He asked, glancing between his fiancé, his mom and sister.

Rachel blushed, ducking her head, "they know something's up."

"Oh, well, I guess we can tell them," he told her.

Taking a deep breath, Rachel nodded, "the reason why we don't want Beth to know right now is because we want to be able to explain things to her so we're sure she understands," she started, taking Puck's hand, "and we were going to tell you two and my dads tomorrow night," she paused, her blush growing, "I did find out what's going on with me. I'm pregnant," she said, looking at Deborah and Arin across the room.

"I knew it!" Arin grinned, jumping up and moving over to them, "this is so awesome!" She added, hugging Rachel once she stood up.

Accepting the hug from Arin, Rachel tried to stay calm, "I hope it's awesome," she admitted nervously, as Arin moved to hug Puck.

Deborah could tell Rachel was hesitant to be excited, so she stood up and moved over to her, "this is wonderful news," she promised, wrapping her arms around her in a hug, "I get another grandchild to spoil."

Hearing her words, Rachel relaxed, having been worried about Deborah's reaction, "I'm glad you're okay with it. I didn't know how you'd take it, " she admitted as they pulled away.

"Understandable, but no need to worry," she assured her, hugging her again and then reached out to pull Puck into the hug.

Puck put his arms around his mom and kissed her cheek, "thanks mom," he said, shifting a little so he could wrap an arm around his fiancé and Arin joined them, the four sharing a family hug, before pulling away.

"I'm so happy for you both," Deborah smiled, "I know this may be a shock, but everything will work out," she promised.

"Shock is an understatement," Puck admitted, then smiled at Rachel, "but to get to be a dad again, to share this with the woman I love and be able to give Beth a brother or sister, it's amazing," he said, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her lovingly.

Rachel felt tears in her eyes as they kissed, but knew they were from happiness, "it definitely is amazing," she agreed.

...

Remembering that Rachel and Puck wanted to keep Beth from finding out right then, they had kept their voices low, but still continued to be excited from the news. Retaking their seats, Deborah asked them to explain why they wanted to keep Beth from the news for a while and though Puck had a pretty good idea why Rachel wanted to keep it from her, he suggested she tell them, so they all knew.

"I hear a lot of times when there's one child in the family and the mom gets pregnant again, sometimes the child thinks they're being replaced, and I want us to be able to sit down with her and explain it all. Reassure her we're not replacing her and we'll still love her as much as we do now. It will also give us time to kind of get over the initial shock and get used to the idea, and also look over some books and things about pregnancy. That way, if she asks any questions, we should be able to answer her," Rachel explained, "I don't want to hide it for a long time, but maybe just until we get to California or when we get back," she added.

"That makes sense," Arin nodded.

Deborah agreed, "yes it does. It also means you're definitely thinking like a mom because you're concerned about how she'll take it. So you're going to tell your dads tomorrow night?" She asked.

"Yes. As for everyone else, once we tell Beth, then we'll tell the others. I want us as a family to enjoy the news before everyone finds out and I also don't want my news to overshadow Santana's baby shower this weekend," Rachel admitted.

"Works for me," Puck grinned, "we'll have our own little secret for a while."

Rachel nodded, "yeah, we will. I don't want to hide it for too long; I mean, I would think by February or March I'll be showing, so we couldn't keep it a secret for long, but for a while."

"That's fine. I get that," he replied, kissing her and pulling her close to him.

"I think we'll leave you two alone," Deborah smirked, standing up and motioning for Arin to follow.

Pulling away, Rachel continued to blush, "you don't have to leave because of us. We should be the ones going to our room."

"It's alright. I need to get to bed, anyway," Arin admitted, smirking.

Seeing the time, they all decided to head to bed, so after locking up the house and turning off the lights, they said 'goodnight' and headed to their rooms. Puck and Rachel stopped by Beth's room to check on her, before moving into their own room. Shutting the door behind him, Puck pulled Rachel into his arms and kissed her, "I can't believe you're pregnant. I mean, I can, but it's just... wow... it's really happening," he grinned.

"It is and I'm so happy," she told him slipping her arms around his neck.

Puck guided her over to the bed and when his legs hit the side of the mattress, he smiled, "how about we celebrate?" He suggested, kicking his shoes off.

"I think," she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him, "that sounds like a great idea," she replied, slipping her hands under his shirt.

Lifting his arms, he let her pull his shirt off and he returned the favor, slowly lifting her shirt above her head and taking a moment to look at her flat, bare stomach. Smiling he rested his hand on her skin, "hey little one. I know you probably can't hear me yet, but I'm your daddy," he said softly.

Rachel smiled at him, her hand joining his, "and I'm your mommy."

Puck leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips, "this is a first for me. Quinn wouldn't let me near her during the first part of her pregnancy with Beth," he admitted, "and I promise I'm going to be there for everything."

Reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him gently, "I know you will be. I never doubted that for a second."

...

Letting their emotions take over, Puck and Rachel made love, showing each other just how happy they were with the pregnancy. Taking their time and being careful, they slowly settled under the blankets, Rachel on her back, while Puck laid on his side next to her, "you doing alright?" He asked softly.

"More than alright," she smiled, shifting closer, "you're amazing to me. So gentle and caring."

Reaching up, Puck brushed a hand over her cheek, "of course I'm going to care and be gentle. I don't want to hurt you or the baby and I definitely don't want to rush things. I want to enjoy every moment with you that I can."

Leaning into his touch, she relaxed even more, "I feel the same way," she agreed, turning her head a little to press a kiss to his palm, "my Noah, the man I love," she murmured.

Puck smiled at her words and leaned down to kiss her lips, "my Rachel, the beautiful woman I'll always love," he whispered, purposely repeating what she'd said to him.

Smiling contently at his reply, she shifted to her side so she could slide closer to him, their bodies pressed together, "do we really have to go to sleep?" She wondered softly.

Glancing at the clock, Puck saw the time, "well, not this moment exactly, but some of us do have to work tomorrow," he smirked, "we're not all taking the day off just because it's the first day of Hanukkah."

"Noah, this is the first Hanukkah the Puckermans and Berrys will be spending together and I want to help your mom cook. It's a big deal," she told him.

"I know it is," he agreed, "and I'm happy we're spending it together. I'm just not used to anyone taking a day off work to prepare for it. We always light the menorah each night of Hanukkah, but save the big celebration until the weekend," he admitted, "but I understand why we had to change up our plans and I'm totally cool with it."

Rachel nodded, "good," she said, tugging the blankets further up on them to keep warm, "because I want this Hanukkah to be really special," she admitted, feeling her body start to pull her into sleep.

Puck kissed her lips and rubbed her back, "it already is special, because you're here," he replied, "let's get some sleep," he added, seeing her starting to drift off. "Night, babe."

"Night, sweetheart," she replied, her body settling down into sleep.

...

Tuesday morning, the Puckerman house was buzzing like it usually was while everyone was trying to get ready for work and school, the only difference was that Deborah and Rachel were not going to work. It was always planned that they'd have that day off, so they could prepare for the Hanukkah celebration. That night was the first of Hanukkah and Deborah wanted to integrate some of the Berry's traditional dishes in with the Puckerman's, a way to show the joining of the two families. Rachel offered to help, so they knew they had a full day of cooking and preparations to work on for that evening.

After Puck, Arin and Beth left, Rachel and Deborah set to work on getting their shopping list finished. Deborah had picked up a lot of what they needed over her weekend trips to the store, but they still had a final few items to get before they could start working.

Usually, the Puckermans and Berrys would celebrate Hanukkah in similar ways. During the weekdays they'd light the menorah and exchange a few gifts each time, but on the weekend, usually Saturday, they'd have a larger celebration, since everyone was off then, but this year plans were a little different.

Back in November when Rachel began to plan Santana's baby shower, a Saturday in December seemed like the best day. She knew Santana was due in February and didn't want to wait until January to have the shower, and she also didn't want to throw it the weened before or after Christmas, so the day that was chosen was the Saturday of Hanukkah. Rachel talked to her dads, Deborah and Noah about the date and they were okay with the shower being that day, so they decided to change their Hanukkah celebrations from the weekend to the first night.

After a quick trip to the store, Rachel and Deborah returned to the house and got to work on a variety of foods for dinner and Rachel was really enjoying the time with her, "Deborah, I mean, mom, I... um," Rachel blushed.

"What's wrong?" Deborah wondered, noticing Rachel stumbling over her words.

Taking a deep breath, Rachel smiled at her, "I just want to say thank you for welcoming me into your life and accepting me as part of your family. I've never had a mom before. Sure, I had my grandmas and aunts, but it's just not the same and I knew one day I'd marry and have a mother-in-law, but I just... I don't feel like you're my mother-in-law," she admitted, "I never 'needed' a mom, in a sense, but I did wonder about what she'd be like and you're definitely who I imagined," she told her honestly.

Deborah smiled and moved towards her, wrapping her arms around her in a warm hug, "I'm honored you feel that way and you are definitely a wonderful addition to our family, Rachel. I see a lot of me in you and you and Arin are similar, so it's very easy for me to see you as a daughter, no need for the 'in-law' part. That's never going to change and I'll always be here for you."

Rachel returned her hug and listened to her, feeling tears in her eyes, "thank you, mom. I hope I can be as good of a mom to Beth and the baby as you are with Arin and Noah."

"You already are, Rachel," Deborah assured her, wiping her eyes.

"That's good to know," Rachel took a deep breath and tried to calm down, "sorry, I don't mean to cry."

"It's alright," she replied, then tried to change the subject to help Rachel get her mind off the emotional topic they'd been on, "how about we get back to dinner? We've got a lot of things left to do."

"Oh yeah, you're right," she nodded and turned her focus back onto what she'd been doing, "I want everything to be perfect tonight!"

...

Picking up Beth from school, Puck made a slight detour on the way home and she noticed, "daddy, where are we going?"

"Going to stop at the florists before we head home," he replied.

"What's a florists?" She wondered curiously.

"Well, it's a store that sells flowers, but the people there take fresh ones and put them together a special collection of them to give as gifts," he explained, "I'll show you when were get there."

"Okay," Beth nodded and watched Lima pass by.

Driving through town, Puck pulled into the small lot of the flower shop and parked, climbing out and opening the back door for Beth, "come on, kiddo."

Beth slid out and took his hand once he'd shut and locked the doors, pocketing the keys and then led her towards the building. "You don't have yucky oil on your hands do you?" She asked, remembering he'd been at work.

"No I don't," Puck promised, holding up his other hand, "we wear gloves and I washed my hands before I left."

"Okay, good," she replied, skipping a few steps ahead of him, as if pulling him along.

Puck smiled, not minding her doing that and as they reached the door, he pulled it open and let her walk in first, then followed her inside, glancing around the brightly lit room, full of flower arrangements of all shapes, sizes and colors.

"Wow! Look at all the flowers!" Beth grinned, "what are we going to get?" She asked, turning to look at him curiously.

"I already have them ordered for your aunt and grandma, but I thought we could pick out what we wanna get mom," he suggested.

"Cool!" Beth grinned, "where do we start?"

"Well, I wanna get her red roses, so you wanna find something to go with them?" He asked, "do you know what her favorite color is?"

"Purple!" She said, guiding him over to a display with some purple carnations.

He smirked, "you know me well. You wanna get her those?"

"Yeah! They will look awesome with the roses," she said, pointing to them across the room.

"Sounds good to me," he grinned.

...

Talking to the sales woman, Puck explained what he wanted and added it to his already ordered bouquets for his mom and sister. Since Rachel's hadn't been put together yet, he sent Rachel a message to let her know he and Beth would be home soon, so no one was worried when they weren't home yet and the two wandered around the shop while the florist put together the purple carnations and red roses.

Just before four, with flowers in their hands, Beth and Puck left the shop and returned to his car. Deborah and Arin's flowers were only in a bouquet and Rachel's were in a vase, so Puck used the seatbelt in the backseat to hold down the vase and then laid his mom and sister's bouquets on the seat in the front and soon he and Beth were on their way home.

Pulling up to the house just after four, everyone was there, including David and Alan, "grandpa and granddad are here!" Beth exclaimed, grinning when she saw their SUV.

"They are," Puck agreed, coming to a stop behind his sister's car, "you do remember we're celebrating Hanukkah tonight with them, right?"

"Yeah, but I didn't know they'd be here when we got home!" She said, unbuckling her seatbelt and sliding out of the car quickly, excited to see them.

"Ah, I see. Don't go too far, I need some help," he reminded her.

"I know," Beth hopped up on the sidewalk and with her backpack on, he handed her the two bouquets while Puck got out the vase with Rachel's flowers.

Shutting the door with his foot, Puck locked the doors and then followed Beth towards the house and opened the door for her, since her arms were full and the two stepped inside, smelling the familiar scents of Jewish food, "man, it smells great in here," he admitted, closing the door with his foot.

"Wow, did you raid a garden on your way home?" Arin laughed from the living room when she saw all the flowers.

"No! We went to a florist," Beth said, using the new word she'd learned.

"I see that," Arin replied, getting up and moving towards them, "need some help?"

"Nah, but Beth has your flowers," Puck said, motioning to the ones she was holding.

"You got me flowers?" She asked, surprised.

"Yes, we did," Puck nodded, as Beth handed over the bouquet of six yellow roses and six orange carnations, "to say 'Happy Hanukkah' and we love you," he told her with a smile.

Arin took the bouquet and smiled, taking a moment to smell them before returning Puck's hug, "thank you, I love you both, too. Happy Hanukkah," she replied, pressing a kiss to his cheek, before moving to hug Beth.

When the two pulled away, Puck asked Arin to hold the vase so he could take his work boots off, not wanting to track anything through the house. Once they were off, he helped Beth take her jacket and backpack off, then took the vase back from Arin and the three moved into the kitchen where David, Alan, Rachel and Deborah were.

"We're home," Puck said casually, seeing Rachel and Deborah standing at the counter and stove.

"I thought I heard your voices," Rachel commented, turning when she heard them, "wow!" She gasped, not expecting the flowers, "now we know where you went."

"We got flowers for you, grandma and Arin!" Beth grinned, moving to Deborah to hand her a similar bouquet to Arin's, except hers were pink roses and yellow carnations.

"They're beautiful," Deborah smiled, taking them from Beth and hugging her, "you guys didn't have to do this."

"We wanted to, because we love you," Beth said to her.

"I love you, too," Deborah replied, kissing her on the top of her head.

"And these are for you," Puck explained, setting the vase, with a dozen red roses and a dozen purple carnations, on the kitchen table and looked at Rachel, "I'd ordered mom's and Arin's earlier today, but I wanted Beth to pick out something to go with the red roses for you and she picked out the purple carnations."

Seeing the flowers, Rachel felt tears in her eyes, "oh Noah, Beth, I love them," she smiled brightly, moving over to him and giving him a loving hug, "I love you," she whispered to him.

Puck smiled and kissed her gently, "I love you, too," he replied, pulling back and reaching up to wipe her eyes.

Beth walked over to them and wrapped her arms around their legs, joining in their hug and Puck leaned down and picked her up, "love you, mommy," she said, reaching out to hug Rachel.

Rachel returned her hug, "I love you, too, Beth. You know what?" She looked at her flowers, "purple is my favorite color and roses and carnations are my favorite flowers," she told her, kissing her cheek.

"Really?" Beth asked surprised and at Rachel's nod, she grinned. "I know your favorite color is purple, but I didn't know those were your favorite flowers, too. So cool!"

"It's very cool," Rachel agreed, "I'm one lucky girl to have an amazing family like you all," she said, looking around to everyone.

"We're the lucky ones," Puck added, kissing Rachel on the lips.

...

After giving the flowers out, Puck greeted David and Alan, then headed upstairs to change out of his work clothes and returned to the kitchen with the family. The dinning room table was set and the menorah was right in the center, ready to be lit and though it wasn't quite sundown yet, since it was winter, it got dark around dinner time, so everyone was helping out with the final touches to dinner.

"Can I go watch TV?" Beth asked.

"Do you have any homework?" Puck replied.

"Yeah. Math and geography," she told him.

"Then why don't you go do that first, and you can watch TV later tonight," he said, "we'll let you know when dinner is ready," he added.

"Alright," she sighed, sliding off the chair she'd been sitting in.

After a few moments, footsteps could be heard going upstairs and Rachel listened for a moment, then stepped into the living room to make sure Beth had gone upstairs, before returning to the kitchen, "coast is clear," she grinned, looking at Puck.

"For what?"

"You know," she eyed him.

"What are..." He blushed as it dawned on him and rubbed his neck nervously, leaning against the counter, "oh, yeah. I remember."

"Is everything alright?" David asked, a little confused at Rachel and Puck's comments.

"Yes," Rachel nodded, smiling at Puck, before looking at them, "but we have something we'd like to tell you that we don't want Beth to find out right now," she admitted.

David and Alan exchanged glances before looking at them, "okay. What's up?" Alan asked, as he and David moved closer to Rachel and Puck, so they didn't have to talk too loud.

Puck took a deep breath, just as Rachel said, "I'm pregnant," and grinned brightly.

"Oh wow! I had a feeling you were," David admitted, returning her smile, "that's great news, sweetheart!"

"Really, it is?" She bit her lip nervously for a moment.

"Of course it is," Alan replied honestly, moving forward and wrapping his arms around her in a hug, "we expected it would happen, we just weren't sure when," he explained.

Rachel relaxed and accepted his hug, "okay, good, I'm glad," she smiled, pulling away to wrap her arms around David, "I didn't think you'd have a problem, but I still was a little worried."

David kissed her cheek as they hugged, "understandable, but we're definitely happy with the news. We get another grandchild out of this," he told her.

Alan looked at Puck, holding out his hand to him, "congratulations, son."

Puck sighed in relief, glad they weren't upset with the news and shook Alan's hand, "thank you," he smiled, "son, huh? I'm not used to hearing that from a guy."

"You are a part of our family, Noah. You're our son," Alan confirmed, leaning in and patting Puck on the back with his other hand.

"And call us 'dad'," David added, doing the same thing, shaking Puck's hand and patting him on the back, in the 'guy hug'.

"Alright," Puck nodded, smiling at them, "dad."

"Dad, daddy, I hope it's alright that Deborah and Arin found out last night. I couldn't really keep it a secret yesterday when I found out," Rachel said, "and it's not something I wanted to tell you over the phone."

"It's quite alright, sweetheart. We understand and we're glad you told us in person, too," David assured her.

Alan nodded in agreement, "now that we've told you how we feel about this, how are you two handling it?" He asked curiously.

Rachel slipped her arms around Puck's waist and smiled up at him, "I am very excited to be able to share this with the man I love, our daughter and our family," she said honestly.

Puck wrapped his arms around shoulders, his eyes locked on her, "I love you, too, and I definitely agree. This is an amazing feeling."

...

A/N5: I'm so excited for a Puckleberry baby, hope you guys are, too! I had planned to end the chapter with the baby shower, but I decided to save that for the next one, giving the family some time to celebrate the news and their first Hanukkah together. Review and let me know what you thought!

A/N6: Out of the Blue just had it's second birthday in mid-October, which was my first ever Puckleberry fic written and I have many more to come. To all of my readers, thank you for everything! For supporting my writing, for reading, reviewing, praying for my family when we were going through rough times, your words of encouragement; all of it! I honestly can't thank you enough for how you guys have helped me out these past few years! You all are amazing, I love you and I hope you all will continue this journey with me!

A/N7: Any Terra Nova watchers out there? I love it and am shipping Reynolds and Maddy, Reynon. I just wrote and posted a short one-shot called 'Alright' and am going to continue to write fics for them, too, but I promise it won't take away from my Puckleberry fics; I just love them enough to write fics for them, too.

...


	13. Chapter 13

Title: Returning Home, Part 13/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

A/N3: AU after 1x13 ~ Sectionals.

A/N4: Puck and Rachel were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

...

Talking a little bit more about her pregnancy, Rachel explained her and Puck's reasons for wanting to keep Beth and others from finding out for a while, and David and Alan understood and promised they'd keep it quiet until Rachel was ready for others to know.

Rachel was relieved that her dads were accepting of the pregnancy news and it helped her relax for the rest of the evening, so the Berrys and Puckermans could celebrate the first night of Hanukkah together. When dinner was ready, the newly joined family lit the menorah and said a few prayers before taking their seats and settling in to eat. Over dinner, their conversations seemed to focus on their upcoming trip and the baby shower they were having for Santana on Saturday.

As dinner came to an end, everyone helped clean up and then hung out in the living room for a while, exchanging gifts and talking some more, before David and Alan needed to leave to get back to Columbus, since they had to work the next day.

Saying 'goodnight' to the two men, Rachel walked them out to their car and waved to them as they left and once she'd gotten back inside, the others decided it was a good time to get to bed. Rachel helped Beth get changed and then Rachel and Puck tucked Beth into bed and sung to her before she drifted off to sleep. When she began to drift off, her parents left the room and joined Deborah and Arin downstairs. They were the next ones to go to bed and Rachel and Puck turned in just after them, talking a little about the trip before they finally went to sleep.

...

The following morning, Rachel went back to work after being sick and was thankful that the medication her doctor gave her seemed to help get ease her morning sickness so it was almost completely gone.

The family tried to keep to their usual routine as much as possible, but instead of just hanging out at night after dinner, they were making trips to the store to pick up decorations for the baby shower coming up in a few days, along with a gift for Santana and the baby, and also some things they'd need for their trip.

Though usually the host of the baby shower was the one to deal with the invitations and guests, this time everyone was RSVP'ing to Santana. Rachel wanted to surprise the few former members of New Directions that would be there, who hadn't seen her yet, and also because she didn't know anyone attending except just a few, because most of the people were Santana's family, friends and coworkers.

When Saturday rolled around, Rachel's stomach was uneasy and it wasn't morning sickness. She was nervous about seeing everyone and also was hoping Santana liked the party.

Not wanting to be 'stuck' in a house full of women, Puck opted to work at the garage with Burt and Finn that day, and he was gone by the time Rachel, Deborah and Arin began decorating with pinks and purples... Just before the invitations had been sent out, Santana had a sonogram and she and Finn decided to find out the gender and the doctor was pretty sure they were having a girl.

...

Just after eleven the doorbell rang, and Rachel hopped up to answer it, finding Santana, Kurt and two older women. She quickly realized they were Finn and Santana's moms, "hey! You're early," Rachel smiled, hugging Santana as she stepped inside.

"Yeah, I know. I was getting excited, so we thought we'd just come over early," the mom-to-be admitted.

"I'm excited, too. I hope you have fun today," Rachel told her as they all hung their jackets up and moved further into the living room after Santana introduced her mom, Maria, and Finn's mom Carole.

"It looks great, Rachel," Kurt said glancing around at all the pink and purple decorations, "I just hope it's really a girl," he added with a wink.

Santana groaned, "don't even say something like that. Finn's already got the nursery painted and I'm picking out everything pink," she commented, taking a seat on the couch.

"Don't worry. With all the technology there is now and being familiar with the medical field, a doctor usually wouldn't tell you something as big as that without knowing for sure or at least having a pretty good idea," Deborah assured her.

"Thank you," Santana smiled, looking around, "you guys did a great job. Thanks for throwing this," she said honestly, "and I'm sure we'll have fun! It's also great, because you'll get to catch up with the other girls from Glee, too," she told her.

Rachel bit her lip, "yeah, that, too, but are you sure they're not mad at me? I mean..."

"Rachel, it's fine," Kurt assured her, "it's not like you did it on purpose. Your dads made a decision and you had to go along with it. Yeah, I know we were all upset with your move, but we all understood after a while."

Taking a deep breath, she nodded, "I know everything happened so fast and I felt terrible about leaving, and Noah's told me that you guys eventually forgave me, but I do still feel bad. And then everything with Quinn... No one called to tell me, so it was a huge shock when I found out. I understand things were going on here and I wasn't the first thing you guys were thinking about. Part of me thinks that it's all my fault I didn't know, because I should have kept in touch, but since I didn't hear from anyone after I left, except Noah, and even those calls stopped after a while, I figured I should just move on like everyone else had," she bit her lip, feeling tears in her eyes and reached up to wipe them away, now embarrassed because she'd said all that, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought this up. This isn't what we need to be talking about today," she admitted.

Kurt wrapped his arms around her, "you have every right to be upset about us not calling. We _all_ share blame in that," he told her honestly, motioning between him, Santana, and her, "it's not all your fault. I feel just as bad that I didn't call you as you do for not being called."

Santana got up and moved towards them, wrapping her arms around Rachel and Kurt, "Kurt's right and it's stuff that needed to be said. I'm sure if we could go back, we'd all have done things differently, but unfortunately we can't, so I say we just learn from our past, put it behind us and start over... Didn't we already agree on this when we first saw each other, after you and Puck got back together?" Santana asked Rachel curiously.

Rachel blushed a little, "we did. I usually am okay with putting it in the past, but it just seems to become fresh in my mind when I'm meeting up with someone I haven't seen yet," she said, biting her lip.

"It's understandable, Rachel, and don't feel bad for bringing this up. If I was in your shoes, I'd feel the same way," Kurt assured her, "when Tina and Mercedes get here, we can all talk about it and I'm sure they'll agree with what we've all said."

Taking a deep breath, Rachel nodded, "you're right. Both of you are," she smiled at them, "thanks. And I'm sorry. This is your day," she added, looking at the Latina.

"Don't be sorry," Santana waved her hand at her as they pulled from their hug, "it gives me an excuse to cry about something real and not just because my hormones are all over the place," she smirked, then sobered, "but in all seriousness, it's okay," she added.

Rachel laughed lightly at her first comment, then nodded at the other part, "okay, cool," she took a deep breath and tried to relax.

"You probably won't have to wait too long, actually," Kurt admitted, "Tina and Mercedes are on their way. I didn't get to see them at Thanksgiving, so they wanted me to let them know when we got here, so they could come over and hang out a bit before the party started," he explained.

"Oh really?" Rachel's cheeks deepened in color, "well, that's good. I am excited to see them, even if I'm also nervous, too."

...

Having mixed emotions, Rachel was able to clam down and relax for a few moments before the doorbell rang, and Kurt said it was Tina and Mercedes because he recognized their cars from where he was sitting by the window. "I'll get it!" Beth commented, jumping up and skipping over to the door, "hi, Aunt Tina! Hi, Aunt Mercedes!" She exclaimed, when she pulled open the door.

The two women stepped into the house, greeting Beth and each gave her a hug before they hung their jackets up and moved further into the house; Deborah offering to take their gifts and set them on the dinning room table where some other ones were waiting to be opened.

When Beth had gone to the door, Rachel stood up and waited nervously. Her reaction to seeing the two for the first time was they hadn't changed too much. The only difference Rachel really saw was that Mercedes wasn't wearing as much jewelery as she used to and had slimmed down a little, while Tina wasn't wearing black and her hair was all her natural color, instead of the blue pieces she used to have. Biting her lip, she waited until they were in the living room and felt tears in her eyes and wasn't sure if it was just emotions or partially hormones from her own pregnancy.

Since Mercedes was married to Matt Rutherford, Tina was dating Mike Chang, both guys are friends with Puck and Finn, and Kurt being close with both girls, it wasn't a secret that Rachel was back in town. Tina and Mercedes also knew that she was dating and now engaged to Puck, so there wasn't the initial shock that she was there, giving themselves more time to have a mini-reunion.

"Well, it's about damn time we get to see you. You've only been with Puck for what? Two months?" Mercedes teased, moving right over to Rachel and wrapping her in a hug. "It's so good to see you again, Rachel," she added.

Rachel blushed, laughing lightly at her first comment and then smiled, "almost two and it's really good to see you again, too, Mercedes," she replied as they pulled away, hoping that the teasing was a good sign.

Tina took that moment to give Rachel a hug, too, "it's great to have you back. Is it true you and Puck are engaged?"

"We are," Rachel nodded, smiling brightly as she held up her left hand, "I'm so happy."

"Oh, congratulations!" Tina grinned, hugging her again, "so many great things to celebrate!"

"See, we told you they wouldn't hate you," Santana commented as she and Kurt moved towards them.

"Hate her? What for?" Mercedes raised a curious eyebrow.

"She's worried everyone is pissed at her for leaving when she did in high school," Kurt added, "and we've assured her that we all, after a while, understood it wasn't her choice and we've forgiven her."

"Of course we have," Tina nodded, "it hurt when you left, but we all realized you didn't want to leave, but you had to go with your family. The timing sucked, but we understood," she assured her.

Rachel nodded, "yeah, the timing really did suck," she agreed, "and I'm sorry for leaving. We had a short amount of time to make a decision and we had to take it."

"You don't have to explain, we get it," Mercedes said, patting her shoulder, "besides, it's in the past."

Santana nudged Rachel, "well, go on... Tell them..."

"What?" Tina wondered.

Rachel couldn't help the blush that continued to grow on her cheeks and realized she and Kurt were trying to get her to bring everything up so they could put it behind them, "well, I've talked about this with Noah and the others I've met up with before and I try to put it behind me, but every time I see someone I haven't seen since McKinley, I get upset because," she paused and took a deep breath, glancing at Beth, "no one called me about Quinn. I didn't know until I first bumped into Noah and Beth on Halloween. It hurts. I would have wanted to come and be there for everyone. I know I didn't leave on good terms, and since no one, except Noah, kept in touch with me, I assumed you were all mad at me, and Noah's calls stopped after a while, so it was a really big shock when I found out," she admitted, "and I didn't want to bring this up, because we're supposed to be celebrating a great day for Santana and Finn, but it did," she sighed, rubbing her forehead a little.

"Oh, Rachel," Mercedes pulled her into a tight hug, "I'm so sorry we didn't call. It was just so hectic... We were planning everything and trying to help Puck out and fighting with Quinn's family... We didn't do it on purpose," she told her honestly.

"Yeah," Tina nodded, rubbing Rachel's back a little, "we definitely would have, but no one was really thinking clearly," she added, "I'm so sorry you found out after so long."

Taking a deep breath, Rachel nodded, smiling at them, "that's what the others have told me and I totally understand, I do, which is why I feel bad every time I bring it up, because I know we can't change the past, even if it does hurt a lot," she said.

"You're allowed to be upset," Tina commented, "it's understandable and if I was in your shoes, I'd probably be bringing it up, too, but if you're able to forgive us, I'd definitely like to move on and become friends again," she told her hopeful.

"Same goes for me," Mercedes added.

"I'd really like that," Rachel replied with a smile, "I'm doing my best to put things behind me. It'll just take some time."

The two new arrivals nodded, "time, we can definitely give you," Mercedes agreed.

...

Thankful that the girls were willing to put things behind them, Rachel was able to relax and enjoy the rest of the day. The closer it got to noon, more guests arrived and they waited until twelve-thirty to really start the party.

Most of the females from Santana and Finn's families, along with friends and coworkers, had shown up and with games, presents and food, the women had a great time celebrating the little girl that would be arriving in a few months.

Santana tried to keep from crying, but she wasn't successful. She finally gave in to her emotions when she began opening various sized gifts from everyone, full of pink or girl themed clothes and accessories, blankets, toys, and items that other moms in the room had found useful or helpful with their newborns. All of the gifts made the reality of what was to come even more real for her and she couldn't help the tears of excitement fall as she looked around, "thank you all so much for these amazing gifts. I'm so excited to meet her," she admitting, rubbing her stomach, "it's finally hitting me that it's not just going to be me and Finn anymore; we're going to have a baby, too. It's amazing, scary, so many feelings," she wiped her eyes with a tissue, "but I'm really glad to have great friends and family like you all to be there for me," she said honestly.

Her speech helped end the party and slowly, after hugging Santana and talking a little bit more, the guests began to leave, but a few stuck around; the former Glee members, Emma Schuester, Finn and Santana's mom and Puck and Rachel's family. Everyone who stayed helped clean up from the party and pack all of Santana's gifts into various cars, before kicking back and relaxing in the living room.

Hanging out for a little longer, Tina and Mercedes found out that the Puckermans and Berrys were going to Disneyland over Christmas and everyone was jealous, but also excited for them and Rachel promised they'd bring them home some gifts from California.

After exchanging contact information with the few people Rachel had met up with again, soon the others decided it was time to get going, so picking up the last few things, Rachel and Beth walked everyone to the door and watched them leave, promising to get together sometime soon.

...

Puck returned home about a half an hour after everyone had left, finding that the house didn't look like there had been a party there at all. Greeting his family and heading up to change, he cleaned up a little and returned downstairs to hear all the stories from the day. Since they'd all been snacking throughout the party, he threw together a quick dinner for himself and listened to everyone, glad that the party was successful.

As the night wore on, it wasn't long before they were getting ready for bed, knowing they had a lot to do the next day.

"How was the party, really?" Puck asked, once he and Rachel settled into bed that night.

Rachel snuggled up next to him and she blushed, "well, it was truly great... Mercedes and Tina were like you guys said; they'd forgiven me and want to be friends again," she told him. "You were right," she added, kissing him.

"I knew I was, but I also knew you needed to find out yourself," he replied, holding her close, "how hard was it to keep this a secret?" He wondered, resting a hand on her stomach.

"Hard," she continued to blush, her hand resting on his, "with Santana and Emma both being pregnant, and everyone talking about babies and families and all the preparations, it was really hard not to say we're expecting... I actually caught myself a few times, but passed it off as we've talked about having another child, but don't know when."

He smirked, "me too... I almost slipped to Finn today. I don't think he caught it, but I covered it up the same way. I'm not used to keeping things like this from people."

"I know," she nodded, "only a few more weeks. I just really want to tell Beth while we're in California, so she doesn't slip to anyone on accident."

"Yeah, I get it," he replied, "and I'm all for it. It's just not easy. The last time I kept something this major from anyone, was when Quinn made me keep quiet about Beth being mine in the first place," he admitted softly.

"Oh, Noah, I'm sorry," she wrapped her arms around him in a hug, "I didn't even think about that. If you'd feel more comfortable telling her, we can," she told him honestly.

"No, babe, it's alright. I'm cool with waiting. I'm just not used to watching what I say. Just gotta think quicker on my toes in conversations, but I can wait; no worries," he assured her.

"Okay," she smiled, "as long as you're sure."

Pressing a kiss to her lips, he nodded, "I'm sure."

...

Waking up Sunday morning, though everyone was off and didn't have homework, they still had a lot to do. By the end of the week they were flying to California, and because none of the Puckermans had ever made long over night trips away from home, where they needed suitcases, they all had to go out to get luggage, so they could spend the rest of the week packing.

As soon as everyone was ready, they piled into Puck's SUV and headed to one of the local stores that carries luggage and travel items. Knowing they didn't have a lot of travel items, for Hanukkah, David and Alan gave each of the Puckermans a gift card to the store, to help with the purchase of luggage, knowing those would be the most expensive things to buy.

Once they arrived at the store, they began looking, knowing they were shopping for three adults and Beth, because Rachel had luggage from all her travels to and from New York and other places. Since they'd only be gone for just under two weeks, they had to figure out what size suitcases they needed, not wanting to over pack and also wanting room for souvenirs coming home.

It took a while, but finally they'd paid for their choices of suitcases and extra things and were on their way back home. Making a quick stop at Rachel's place to get her mail, since she hadn't been there in a few days, the family continued their way home. Once they were home, they had lunch and then Rachel, Puck and Deborah headed for their rooms to start packing.

Knowing the weather in California was a lot warmer than the current Ohio winter temperatures, they were able to pack some clothes and other things, without worrying about needing them for the next week. Once Puck had a good start to his suitcase, he set it on the floor by the bed and laid on his side to watch Rachel, moving between her closet, dresser and the bed where her suitcase was open. He could tell she was focused as she folded items and laid them neatly into her suitcase.

"Noah, you should be packing, not watching me," Rachel smirked, knowing what he was doing.

"I will. Watching you is more fun," he admitted, his eyes traveling down to her stomach, "you feeling okay?"

"Yes, I am," she nodded, looking up to meet his gaze, "no morning sickness now that I've got some medicine for it."

"Good," he smiled, holding out his hand.

Eyeing him, Rachel took his hand and slid onto the bed near him, "yes?"

Once she was on the bed, he pressed a kiss to her lips and used one of his feet to lift the lid on the suitcase to close it, "take a break," he suggested, his hand slipping under her shirt to rest on her stomach.

"A break? We'll have a break when we go on our trip. Right now we have to get ready. We've got a lot of things to do in a short amount of time," she told him, but shifted closer to soak in more of his touches.

"We've got plenty of time to pack and if we forget something, we can always get it in California," he murmured, kissing her again.

"Yeah, but, we're kind of behind. With us being sick, and then the baby shower preparations, we just started getting ready and we still have to work this week, and get Beth ready to go. Everyone said she's growing, so I'm assuming the clothes she wore this past summer won't fit her anymore, or well, some of them might not," she replied, looking at him, "so we're going to need to get some new things for her to wear, because it's not that cold in California."

Puck thought for a moment and sighed, "yeah, I forgot about that," he agreed, "I'm sure some of her clothes will fit, but it wouldn't hurt to get some new ones. I try to get new clothes for her every few months anyway."

Rachel nodded and kissed him, "you're such a great dad, Noah," she smiled.

"Thanks, babe. I like to think I am," he replied.

"It's the truth," she assured him, then settled in for a moment to relax, but her mind was full of thoughts, "we should focus on getting packed, Noah. That way we'll be almost done and this week, after we're home from work and Beth's home from school we can go to the store and pick up some new clothes for her," she shifted to move, "so as much as I'd love to lounge around with you, we should hold off until we're further along in packing."

Reluctantly letting her get up, Puck sighed, "alright, I'll keep packing, but promise me when we're in Cali we'll get some alone time," he begged.

Rachel leaned over and kissed him, "I promise we'll have some alone time while we're there."

Puck grinned, kissing her once more, "good."

...

Getting back to packing, Puck and Rachel continued until Deborah called them for dinner, not even realizing what time it was and once they'd eaten, they returned to what they had been doing and when it was time to help get Beth ready for bed, they were as packed as they could be, aside from the things the used on a daily basis, which they'd have to pack later.

Now that Beth had luggage to pack and travel preparations were starting, she was getting even more excited, so once she was in bed, instead of a bedtime song, Beth wanted them to talk to her about all the things they might be able to see while in California. Rachel did most of the talking, since she'd been there before and it took a little longer, but with all the talking, Beth finally drifted to sleep.

Once the couple left her room, they headed downstairs to talk to his mom and sister for a while, before going to bed themselves, everyone having to get up early the next day.

"I really hope Beth enjoys the trip," Rachel commented as she snuggled into bed with Puck.

"I'm sure she will. I can already tell she's excited. She wouldn't have asked us, well you, to talk about it if she wasn't," he replied.

"Oh yeah," she smiled, "well, I was hoping that was excitement. I still don't know how she expresses all her feelings yet," she admitted with a blush.

"It's alright, babe. You've only known her for like six weeks; there's bound to be things you still don't know," he assured her, kissing her cheek, "it'll come in time."

She nodded, "I know, but I just feel like I should know more."

He smirked, "sometimes even I don't know how she's gonna react to something," he told her honestly, "so we'll both pick up things over time."

Rachel laughed lightly, "that is true. I suppose at her age she's just learning as she goes, too."

"Yep," he nodded, tugging her closer to him, "you interested in picking up where we left off earlier?" He wondered.

Slipping her arms around him, she smiled and kissed him, "definitely interested," she whispered in his ear.

...

As Monday morning rolled around, it wasn't hard for everyone to get back into their usual routine, but the evening got a little more hectic. As Puck and Rachel figured out, Beth had grown out of some of her clothes, so they had to hold off on packing for her until she got some new things.

Monday and Tuesday evenings, after their usual days, Puck, Rachel and Beth went to the mall and various shops around town to pick up some new clothes for her and after the second night, Rachel was satisfied that she had enough for the trip and some new things for when they got back.

Beth really enjoyed the shopping trips, because it was the first time she'd gone with Rachel. Usually when she'd get new clothes, Deborah or Arin would go with Puck and Beth, so he didn't have to go into the fitting rooms with her, and even though it was okay to have her grandma or aunt help her out, it was more fun with her mom there and Rachel was happy that she got to experience another new thing with her daughter and couldn't wait for more 'firsts' together.

...

When Wednesday arrived, now that shopping was done and Beth's new things were washed and ready to wear or pack, after dinner, Puck, Rachel and Beth were in her room to start packing.

"Can I take these?" Beth asked, holding a few of her favorite stuffed animals in her arms.

"Um," Rachel sat on the edge of the bed, gathering her thoughts, "maybe one. We don't have that much room and I'm sure you'll get a few new stuffed animals to bring home, so you want room for them, right?"

Beth thought for a moment, "yeah, I guess so, but they help me sleep. What if I get scared?" She wondered softly.

Rachel took the animals, set them on the bed and then wrapped her arms around Beth in a hug, "then daddy and I will be there."

"Really?" Beth asked, returning the hug and glancing at Puck.

"Yep," Puck nodded from where he was sitting on her bed, "we're probably going to be sharing a room. If we're not, then we'll definitely be close by," he told her, "either way, if you need us, we'll be there."

"Oh, okay. Cool," she smiled, looking at the stuffed animals she'd picked out and reached for one of them, "this one?"

"If that's the one you want to take, sure," Rachel nodded.

"Okay. This one," she said, setting it in her suitcase, then moved to put the others back.

Puck watched his girls and smiled, loving how Rachel so easily fell into being a mom and knew that she'd continue to be just as amazing. Knowing he could say something at the moment, he decided to hold off until later, when it was just the two of them and he could compliment her properly.

"Do I need to take my blanket?" Beth asked, motioning to her bed.

Rachel shook her head, "no, you don't. We're staying in a hotel. They have all that."

"They do?" Beth wondered, "I've never stayed in one before."

"Really?" Rachel raised a curious eyebrow at Puck.

"The only traveling we've done is really to visit Quinn's family and if we stay the night, it's usually at Quinn's sister's place. We've never stayed in a hotel before," Puck replied.

"Ah, I see," Rachel nodded, patting the bed next to her and Beth hopped up and sat beside her, "well, a hotel is somewhere that has a whole bunch of rooms, like really small apartments. They have beds with pillows and blankets, they have tables and chairs, or sometimes a couch. There's a bathroom and a TV, sometimes a small kitchen," she explained, "so that way, all we need to bring is our clothes and things we use in the bathroom like our tooth brush, and we'll have pretty much everything we'll need."

"Oh okay, that's cool! I didn't know that," Beth admitted.

"It's alright. I didn't realize you guys hadn't done a lot of traveling. I understand though; not everyone does," Rachel replied, kissing her forehead.

"Maybe we can change that. We could go have some fun as a family," Puck commented.

"Maybe we could," Rachel agreed, "it would definitely be fun to have some family vacation time."

"Yeah, it would!" Beth nodded, "but where would we go?"

"I don't know. There's lots of places. I guess that depends on how long we can take off of work at a time and how we will travel," Puck added, "it's something to think about."

"We definitely have time, but right now we're getting ready to go to Disneyland," Rachel admitted with a smile, "so, I think we should just finish packing for that and have fun while we're there. Then, when we get home, we can think and talk about another family trip," she suggested.

"Okay!" Beth grinned, hugging Rachel, "we're going to have so much fun!"

...

Getting back to what they'd been doing, they packed as much as they could and then helped get Beth ready for bed when it got later. Once she was settled down, Puck and Rachel went downstairs for a while, chatting with his mom and sister for a while before they all said 'goodnight'.

"You're amazing with Beth," Puck commented as they got into bed that night.

Rachel smiled brightly, "really? I am?"

"Yeah! You're a great mom, Rachel. You're made for this," he smiled, "every time I see you interact with her, the more amazing you are. You don't let her get away with something she does wrong and like earlier, you helped explain things to her so she understood and you also compromised with her about her stuffed animals."

"Well, I understand that going away from home is hard and when I was her age, I took my favorite stuffed animal with me when my dads and I went on trips," she explained, "I guess I can relate to her and since I understand where she's coming from, it's easy to talk to her about it."

"Which makes you a great mom," he smiled, "I'm really glad you're back in my life; in our lives," he motioned around the room.

"I am, too. There's no place I'd rather be. It's... Sometimes I feel like this was the reason I took the job at the studio here in Lima; like I was meant to meet up with you again and we'd rekindle the relationship we had and also be able to start fresh," she smiled at him, "I know I'm not the same girl I was in high school; I've grown up a lot and so have you. You're an amazing dad, too, Noah and I'm just so honored that you've let me in to your life and your daughter's; I love you both so much."

"I love you, too, babe, and I know Beth feels the same," he said, holding her close to him, "and I can't wait to bring a new child into our family. I know we've only been together a short time, but I feel like this is the path we were meant to take; it feels right."

Rachel pressed a kiss to his lips and smiled brightly, "I totally agree, Noah. This definitely feels right."

...

A/N5: Hope you guys enjoyed! I've been working on this chapter since just before Christmas, and actually have a whole lot more written, but I decided to split it up into two chapters, so the next chapter will be more preparations for their trip.

A/N6: Thank you all for sticking with me. I'm so sorry it took me almost two months to update! I didn't intend for it to be that long. I took a break from my current WIPs to work on one of my next WIPs and the next thing I know, most of November was gone... Then I found out that 'Starlight' had been stolen, but thankfully the person who stole it, took it down. I got back into my WIPs and have updated 'Starlight', 'Out of the Blue' and now 'Returning Home' and next on my list is 'Broken Road'... It's also been a hectic holiday season and my laptop (the computer I use for everything) finally crashed on me today. Thankfully I never save my fics on the hard drive, always on a thumb drive, so I was safe with them and I knew it was crapping out on me, so I was able to save all my things to my external hard drives before it went out completely (except for a few things and I hope the Geek Squad at Best Buy will be able to save them). My dad is letting me use his laptop for now, but it's not the greatest. For a new laptop it's pretty slow, but I'll take what I can get, because I don't know when I'll be able to afford a new one and this one does do what I need it to do for now, so I'm still here, but just gotta take it easy on this thing. Hope you all have a great holiday season! Happy New Year!

...


	14. Chapter 14

Title: Returning Home, Part 14/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

A/N3: AU after 1x13 ~ Sectionals.

A/N4: Puck and Rachel were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

...

When Thursday rolled around, Beth and Arin were excited; it was their last day of school, even though the rest of the Lima students didn't get out until the next day. Also, everyone else in the house would be done with work that day, because on Friday, they were heading down to Rachel's dads house for the night, before leaving for California Saturday, meaning Thursday was it to finish packing and getting ready to go.

Rachel's classes finished up early at the dance studio, so she got to go home a lot earlier than normal, giving her some time to finishing packing most of her things and then got back to work on Beth's, before anyone else got home.

A little after three, Beth and Puck arrived home and Beth found Rachel in the kitchen, drinking a bottle of water, "mom! Guess what?" Beth grinned.

"I don't know. What?" Rachel wondered, hugging her when the young child wrapped her arms around her waist.

"No more school until next year!" Beth replied happily.

"That's very cool," Rachel agreed, kissing her forehead, "but what's even cooler is that we get to go to Disneyland," she added.

"We do!" Beth nodded.

"Why don't you go put your backpack in your room, kiddo," Puck suggested, "then maybe mom will be nice enough to make you a snack," he added.

"Please, mom?" She looked at her.

"Of course I will," Rachel replied with a nod.

"Thanks!" Beth waved, heading to the stairs and soon her parents could hear her footsteps in her room.

"Hey, babe," Puck grinned, slipping his arms around her and kissing her lovingly, "didn't expect you to be home so early."

Rachel relaxed into his arms, "hey," she smiled, "my last class finished was at noon and my boss knows we're leaving soon, so she understood and didn't make me stick around. I'm glad she let me leave. I got most of my things packed up except what I'll use in the morning and am mostly done with Beth's packing, too. I just need to make sure what I've packed is what she'll wear and want," she explained, "I should probably go back up and go through that stuff with her now and we still haven't decided if we're going to let her take a carry-on or if we'll just put what she wants in our bags," she added.

"Whoa, slow down, babe," Puck kissed her again, "relax. Things will get done."

"I know, but we're planning to leave in the morning and-"

"Rachel, we're going to stay at your dads tomorrow night, so if we're not out of the house until tomorrow afternoon, I think they'll understand," he told her, resting his hands on her shoulders, "if things aren't all done tonight, we can take care of them in the morning. Stressing like this can't be good for you," he listened to hear footsteps upstairs, "or the baby," he whispered.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded, "we're okay," she replied, but understood what he meant, "I just I want to make sure everything is taken care of. Thankfully mom already talked to Finn's mom and she'll be keeping an eye on the house and getting the mail and all that, but we still have things to do."

"They'll get done. We're all done with work and school today and we've got all tonight and tomorrow," he assured her, hearing footsteps, "you should probably get Beth's snack made. I gotta go change."

Rachel nodded, "yeah, I'll make that real quick, then she can come upstairs and we can go through her things."

"That's fine, but just remember you don't need to stress about it," he reminded her, kissing her once more before pulling away, "we've got plenty of time."

...

Trying not to stress out like Puck asked, Rachel sat back and relaxed while Beth was eating her snack and then the two headed upstairs to go through what Rachel had picked out. While they were up there, Puck started dinner, since his mom and sister hadn't gotten home yet and when Rachel and Beth finished, they joined him in the kitchen.

It wasn't too much longer and Arin and Deborah were home; Arin had stayed after school to talk to her teachers about any work assignments she might miss the next day and took her math test that was supposed to be given the next day, so she didn't have to make it up when she returned to school.

Puck continued working on dinner, since he was packed, except for things he'd use in the morning, giving his mom and sister some time to pack. Once the family sat down to eat, they were talking mostly about the plans for the next day and Deborah agreed they'd have time in the morning to finish up, if necessary.

Once dinner was over, Deborah and Arin returned to packing, while Puck, Rachel and Beth settled down in the living room to watch a movie and let Beth pick it. Their movie collection was a combination of everyone's and Beth looked through them and landed on an older Disney movie she hadn't seen, "what's this about?" She asked, holding up 'The Beauty and the Beast'.

Rachel smiled, "it's about a prince who was cursed and turned into a beast and the only way to become a human again was to have a woman fall in love with him as a beast. It's one of my favorite Disney movies," she explained.

"Really? Can we watch it?" Beth asked, looking at her parents, but mostly her dad, because she wasn't sure if he'd want to.

Puck shrugged, "yeah, go for it. I guess I could sit through a Disney Princess movie, since we are going to Disneyland in a few days."

Grinning, Beth set up the TV and DVD player, then took a seat on the recliner and once she was comfortable, she hit the play button.

...

Though the movie had come out many years prior, it was still had an important message in it and Rachel found herself crying when she realized several similarities to her and Puck's relationship.

"What's wrong?" Puck asked, surprised she was crying.

"I..." She wiped her eyes and blushed, "I realized we're a little like Belle and the Beast. You were kind of a jerk in high school, and I was stubborn and a lot like Belle, in some ways. When we met, you were mean to me, but then we dated and you were a gentleman... Now that I think back to what happened and seeing Belle leave to help her dad, it was like when I left, and you let me go even though you didn't want me to and now that I've come back, we've finally admitted our feelings for each other and can be together," she explained, looking at him, "I know it's not completely us, but definitely similar."

Puck leaned over and pressed a kiss to her lips, "I saw the similarities, too," he agreed, pulling her in for a tight hug, "it's a pretty good movie. Not a huge fan of these princess movies, but it has a good message and for my girls, I'll watch them."

Rachel smiled and kissed him again, "that means a lot, Noah," she replied, relaxing in his arms. Glancing over to Beth, she smiled, "so what did you think?" She asked.

"I liked it," she agreed, "and I think it's even cooler now that you say it reminds you of you and daddy," she added, moving towards them, "do you think we'll be able to meet them at Disneyland?"

"I don't know," Rachel admitted, "I know they have people dressed up as the characters and they walk around the park, but I'm not sure if we'll see them. We can look for them, if you'd like to."

"Okay!" Beth grinned, leaning in to Rachel to give her a hug.

Rachel wrapped her arms around her and pressed a kiss to her cheek, "do you have any other favorite Disney characters or princesses?" She wondered.

"Well, I like Jasmine and Mulan. Nemo is also pretty cool. I like a lot of them," Beth commented with a shrug.

"There a lot of neat Disney characters," Rachel agreed, glancing at the clock, "what do you say about getting ready for bed?" She asked, seeing it was almost eight-thirty.

Beth nodded, "okay. I'm getting tired," she admitted.

...

Once Beth was ready for bed and had said 'goodnight' to Deborah and Arin, Puck met Rachel and Beth in her room and the two adults tucked her in and talked to her for a little while until she started to drift off to sleep.

Leaving her room, the couple headed back downstairs, cleaning and locking things up before heading back upstairs. They talked to Deborah and Arin briefly in the hallway and agreed on getting up around seven, but would let Arin and Beth sleep a little longer and soon they were all heading to bed.

Once they were in their room, Rachel's mind, though relaxed during the movie, kicked into overdrive again and she began to mention things they'd need to do the next day. "Rachel, how many times do we have to go through this? We've got plenty of time," he smirked, finally slipping under the blankets once he'd changed.

Joining him in bed, she sighed, "I know and I'm sorry, but I just keep thinking of things. I'm surprised I was able to relax to watch the movie. I think part of me is worried because there are four people going who are not used to traveling a lot and I want to make sure we don't forget something."

"That's understandable, but like I've said and mom agreed with at dinner; we've got plenty of time to take care of things," he assured her, wrapping his arms around her body, "so let's just get to sleep and take things one step at a time in the morning."

"Okay," she nodded, then leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips, "do you really want to just sleep?" She wondered curiously.

"Well, I didn't really think you'd be focused enough to do anything," he admitted honestly, but seeing her grin, his body reacted and he kissed her again, "but I'm sure we could find something to do to pass some time, if you're up for it."

Shifting her body closer to him, she grinned, "I definitely am."

...

Rachel was the first one awake the next morning. She let Puck sleep a little longer and once she was showered and ready for the day, she woke Puck up and finished packing her daily items into her bags and soon he was up and she was taking her bags downstairs.

Finding Deborah's bags were already in the living room, Rachel set hers next to them and the two chatted in the kitchen until Puck joined them. Once he was there, they had breakfast and talked about their goal of getting out of the house by noon and Puck was pretty sure they'd be able to be out of town by then.

Once they finished breakfast, Rachel and Deborah went upstairs to wake up Arin and Beth. Beth got up easily, as soon as Rachel woke her, but it was harder to wake Arin. She had only started packing the night before, so she stayed up later than the others to work and still hadn't finished, so when Deborah woke her, she stayed in bed a little longer, giving Beth a chance to use the bathroom if she wanted.

Beth ate breakfast first and then Rachel helped her get ready and were gathering her bathroom things up when Arin finally crawled out of bed. It didn't take long before Beth and Rachel had double checked Beth's room and were taking her luggage down to add to where Puck, Rachel and Deborah's bags were sitting.

Deborah offered to help Arin finish packing, and while they worked on that, Puck began to pack up his SUV and Deborah's car with their bags and finally around eleven-thirty, Arin was finished and her bags were packed into the car.

After double checking that they had all their personal things packed up, they did a final walk through the house to make sure things were clean, nothing was on that could cause problems and doors and windows were locked. Finally, just before noon, the family was walking out of the house and locking it and Deborah was calling Finn's mom, Carole, to let her know they were leaving.

...

Split up in two cars, Rachel, Puck and Beth were leading in Puck's SUV and the two hour drive was pretty uneventful. Beth was familiar with the drive, because she and Puck had done it several times, and though Puck knew the way to Columbus, he didn't know how to get her dads' place, so once they hit the city, Rachel gave him the directions.

A little over two and a half hours after they all left Lima, they pulled up in front of the Berry's two-story home and parked, glad to finally be there. Climbing out of the cars to stretch their legs, Alan came outside to greet them, "hey everyone, I hope the trip down was alright," he said.

"Hi granddad!" Beth grinned, skipping over to him and hugging him.

Alan smiled and leaned down, pressing a kiss to her forehead as they hugged, "hey sweetie. Are you ready for our trip?"

Beth nodded, "yeah! I'm excited!"

"We all are," Rachel agreed, moving to hug her dad, "where's daddy?"

"At work," Alan replied when he returned Rachel's hug.

"Work? But we're leaving tomorrow, dad!" Rachel gasped, "are you guys even packed, yet?"

Alan raised a curious eyebrow at her, "um, not quite yet," he admitted, but by her wide eyes, he realized he probably shouldn't have said that, "we've still got time to pack," he added, "just relax."

Puck laughed lightly, "she's been acting like that for the last few days."

"Sweetheart, this is supposed to be a fun family vacation. Don't worry about all this; we've got plenty of time," Alan assured her, hugging her again, "now come on, let's get inside so we're not standing out here in the cold," he added.

Rachel blushed, but nodded, "alright, I'm trying, but I can't help it. I just want everything to be perfect for our first vacation together."

"It will be," Puck replied, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug, "because we'll be a family."

Smiling at his words, she snuggled into his arms, "yeah, we will be."

...

Gathering up some of their bags, the family headed inside and set them in the living room and then Rachel gave them a tour, showing them the guest rooms and bathrooms and other places they'd need and then she guided Beth into her bedroom, "it's not completely like I had it when I was a kid, but close," Rachel admitted.

The room was still decorated like she had it when she lived there before, the white walls were still decorated with various movie and musical posters, she had some purple decorations scattered around the room, along with a few of her favorite childhood stuffed animals and her twin bed was made with purple sheets and a lavender and dark purple plaid comforter, "and you know my favorite color is purple," she said, motioning to her bed and some of the decorations.

"I do," Beth nodded, "this is so cool!" She moved towards a few of her stuffed animals and picked up a stuffed teddy bear that had purple fur, "this is cute!"

"It is," Rachel agreed, taking a seat on the bed, "so, I was thinking."

"About what?" Beth wondered, hopping up on the bed next to Rachel with the stuffed animal still in her hands.

"This bed is awfully small for Noah and I to sleep in together, so I was thinking you could stay in here tonight," she suggested, "would you like to?"

"Really?" Beth gasped and when Rachel nodded, she leaned over and threw her arms around her in a hug, "I'd love to!"

"I'm glad. It's special to me, and I want to share it with you," Rachel said honestly, hugging her tightly, "I love you, Beth."

"I love you, too, mommy," Beth replied.

Puck really didn't mean to intrude on their moment, but he was surprised the 'tour' had taken so long, so he went to see what they were up to and ended up leaning against Rachel's bedroom door frame, watching and listening to their conversation. As they talked, his eyes danced around the room and saw numerous familiar things, that he remembered from the brief time he was in her bedroom in their Lima home, many years prior, but before he could start reminiscing on the past, he heard Rachel and Beth's 'I love you' and he couldn't be happier to see them together.

"Daddy! Did you hear? Mommy's letting me sleep in her room tonight," Beth said, pulling away from Rachel when she saw him.

"Yeah, I did hear that," Puck nodded, "that's pretty cool. You gonna say 'thank you'?" He wondered curiously as he stepped into the room.

"Thanks, mommy," Beth replied.

"You're welcome," Rachel smiled, standing up and slipping her arm around his waist, "are you spying on us?" She teased.

He laughed lightly, "no, but I couldn't help overhear your conversation. That's cool you're letting her stay in here tonight," he said, glancing at Beth, who was now up and looking around at some of Rachel's things, "I came up here to see what you two were up to and also because Alan said he's going to head to the store in a bit to pick up some things he and David need for the trip and to get Chinese take-out for dinner, so he wants to know what you guys want."

"I'm hungry now," Beth commented, "we skipped lunch, remember?"

"Yeah we did," Rachel agreed, "let's go find you a snack to get you through until dinner," she suggested, slipping an one of her arms around Beth's shoulders.

...

Heading downstairs, the three joined the others and finding a few fruits in the fridge, Rachel cut them up for Beth to have as a snack and then they discussed what to get for dinner. Once they'd picked things out, Alan called in the order to pick up and then left the house, letting them kick back and relax for a while.

While they were all in the living room, Beth began looking at the pictures they had sitting on various shelves and tables or hanging on the walls. Most of them were photos of Rachel, David and Alan, or just the two men on trips, some were of family members, but they also still had a lot of pictures of a younger Rachel scattered around and Beth liked seeing her mom when she was younger; something she hadn't seen before, and in other spaces there were pictures of the newest additions to their family - Beth, Puck, Deborah and Arin. Seeing the pictures of them, Beth was happy and it made her see even more that they loved her and they weren't just saying it.

David got home before Alan and he greeted everyone before heading upstairs to change and then joined them in the living room while they waited for Alan to get back. When Alan got home, they headed for the kitchen and started sorting out dinner and soon they were sitting around the dinning room table, talking mostly about their trip, but also about the things that had been going on in the past week, since they hadn't been up to see them since the first day of Hanukkah.

When dinner was over, they found themselves in the living room again. This time, David pulled out a collection of kid movies, including some Disney ones, that they had around so when their younger nieces and nephews were visiting, they had something to watch. Beth picked out a movie and then curled up on the couch between Puck and Rachel and the large family settled in to enjoy it.

As the movie came to an end, even though it was still pretty early, everyone started to gather their bags and head up to their bedrooms to get ready for bed, since they had to be at the airport by eight the next morning.

Saying 'goodnight' to everyone, Rachel helped Beth get changed and then Puck joined them to tuck her into Rachel's old bed. "Daddy and I will be right next door, so if you need anything just come find us or call out," Rachel said honestly, tugging the blankets up over Beth once she laid down.

"Okay," Beth nodded, holding onto the stuffed animal she'd brought from home, "are you going to stay until I fall asleep?" She asked hopeful.

"Like always," Puck assured her, sitting on the opposite side of the bed from Rachel.

Beth smiled at them and then settled in a little, reaching for the purple stuffed teddy bear of Rachel's that she had earlier, "can I sleep with this, too?"

"Of course you can," Rachel nodded, "and I was thinking we could bring her home, too."

"Really?" Beth grinned, "awesome!"

"Very. Do you want to bring her to California, too, or should we pick her up when we come home?" Rachel wondered.

"I don't know. Are we coming back here?" Beth asked.

Rachel blushed, glancing at Puck, "I don't know. We haven't even talked about what we're doing when we get home."

"Depends on when our flight gets in. I think it would make more sense to stay here the night we get back and go home in the morning. Maybe you should leave it here, unless you and mom can get it in your luggage," Puck suggested, looking at Rachel and Beth.

"I think we can fit her," Rachel replied. "We'll figure it out in the morning when we pack up."

"Cool!" Beth smiled, but she was getting sleep, so she snuggled in, "goodnight. Love you mommy, daddy."

"Love you too, kiddo," Puck replied, leaning over and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Rachel tucked the blanket around Beth a little more and kissed her cheek, "love you, sweetie. Do you think you'll be warm enough?"

"I think so," Beth nodded, letting her eyes close as her body began to drift off to sleep.

Puck and Rachel carefully shifted off the bed and stood up, moving towards the door, because they knew Beth was close to falling asleep. Puck stepped into the hallway first and Rachel followed him, turning the light off and gently closing the bedroom door as she did. "Bed for us?" She asked softly.

"Yeah," Puck nodded, following her a few feet down the hall to the guest room they were using, "that was cool what you did for Beth," he added as he closed the door behind him.

"What part?" She wondered, unsure what exactly he meant.

"Letting her keep the bear and also letting her stay in your room," he admitted.

"Oh," Rachel smiled, "well, since it's a strange house, I thought that she might be more comfortable in a place that is positive for her or special; like she'd never seen my room before, so it's a big deal for her to be here and even more special to stay in my old room," she explained, "and I know she takes care of her stuffed animals, so I have no problem giving it to her. It think it means more if it is 'passed down' or a gift from someone and not just an 'I want it, so I got it' toy," she added.

"That makes sense," Puck nodded in agreement, "and I would have done the same thing," he wrapped his arms around her and held her close, "we're so lucky to have you in our lives. You're an amazing mom to Beth, an awesome soon-to-be wife and a great friend. I couldn't have asked for a better person to be with," he said truthfully, smiling at her.

Rachel felt tears filling her eyes at his words, "oh, Noah," she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly, "I love you so much. I've always been able to be myself around you and I'm glad you approve of the way I am, because I'm just being myself."

Puck reached up and wiped her eyes gently, "that's all I ever want you to be: yourself. It's who I fell for in high school and who I have fallen deeply in love with now," he smiled, pressing a kiss to her lips before resting his forehead against hers.

Letting her eyes drift closed for a moment, Rachel soaked in his words and warmth and felt her heart swell with love, "I feel the same way about you, Noah. I just want you to be yourself around me. I also can't wait to be Mrs. Noah Puckerman," she grinned.

"The feeling is mutual babe," he nodded, relaxing for a moment, but also knew they should be getting into bed, "come on, let's get settled in bed," he said softly.

Realizing he was right, Rachel nodded and reluctantly pulled away a little, "as long as we can do this in bed," she replied.

"Definitely."

...

Feeling like they just got to sleep, their alarm was going off and this time no one had a chance to sleep in. They had to be at the airport by eight-am and even though they were in the same town as the airport, they still needed to have time to find parking spaces for the two cars they were taking to the airport and leaving for the trip and also get all of them and their luggage to their check-in desk.

Once everyone was up and had a light breakfast, planning to pick something up at the airport when they were through security, the house was busy with last minute details and packing. Since Deborah and Noah's cars were still partially filled with luggage, David and Alan decided to just let them take their cars, instead of having to unload and reload theirs, so once the adults were content that their luggage was packed, they put it in one of the cars they were taking.

A little after seven, the last of the luggage was packed into Deborah's car and the Berry men were making final checks around their house and letting David's sister know they were leaving, who was going to be watching the house while they were gone. Grabbing a few things to add to their carry-on, and then double checking to make sure they had all the paperwork for the trip with them, the large family piled into cars and were off to the airport.

Even though it was early morning, it was still close to Christmas and traffic was busy, but they made it to the airport in about thirty minutes and found the secure parking area for leaving vehicles. Checking in with an attendant with some paperwork, they noted their space numbers and soon were loading their luggage onto carts and making the trek towards the check-in area.

Beth was in awe of the airport. She'd never been that close to it before and even though she couldn't see too much while they were walking to the check-in desks, she had gotten a glimpse of some airplanes on the runway when they were driving up and it woke her up from the early morning haze she had been in, even more excited for the trip.

When they arrived at their airline's desk, it was pretty quiet for the moment and a single clerk took the whole family to check each of them in one-by-one and once all of their luggage was checked in, except for their carry-ons, they headed towards the security line.

"Just remember to stay with someone. I don't want you running off and getting lost," Puck commented, glancing at Beth, who was between him and Rachel, holding their hands.

"I know," Beth nodded, letting go of Rachel's hand and wrapping her arms around her dad, "I won't get lost," she promised, hugging him.

Returning her hug, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, "good to know. You're usually good about that, but I just want to make sure you remember. This is the first time we're taking a trip this far away from home and it's a big place we're going to."

"You guys told me," Beth nodded, "you said I had to make sure someone knows where I am at all times and I will."

Rachel rested her hand on Beth's shoulder, "dad's just reminding you," she smiled, glancing at Puck and could see him looking a little worried, something she wasn't used to seeing and it kind of surprised her, but she kept her calm, wanting to get through security before she asked him about his concerns.

...

Even though their check-in desk had been quiet, there were numerous other desks open to check in travelers, so the security line was pretty long. Because of the holiday season, they had more security on staff to get everyone through, so thankfully, it only took about forty-five minutes to get all of the Puckermans and Berrys up to the front of the line and through the checkpoint.

Once on the other side, they still had about an hour before their flight would board, so they headed towards the McDonald's in the food court to pick up some breakfast. After getting their food, they founds seats near a large window that looked out over part of the runway and Beth was intrigued at everything going on.

"Noah, are you alright?" Rachel asked, sliding her chair closer to him.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" He replied, glancing at her.

"You, um, you seemed a little worried earlier, when we were in the security line," she admitted.

"Oh, that. I'm alright," he assured her, "it just hit me we're going to Disneyland and it's a really big place," he motioned to Beth, "she's usually good about staying close to us when we go to the mall or other places, but I wanted to make sure she realizes she can't wander off. It's my biggest fear; to lose her or to get separated in a big crowd," he admitted softly.

Rachel took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently, "I'm worried about that, too, but like you said, she stays close when we go shopping or to other places. She'll be with at least one of the six of us at all times, so she'll never be alone wandering around. It's definitely understandable to have that as a concern and you can't just turn it off, but hopefully you'll be able to set it aside so we can enjoy our trip," she commented, "she'll be fine."

Puck smiled, "thanks and I know she will be. I trust you all and I know she's a good kid. I'm sure I'll shake this feeling once we get there and can relax for a while."

"That makes sense," Rachel nodded, "and I'm sure you will, too."

...

Letting their conversation settle, they finished eating breakfast and gathered up their things, before heading towards their gate. They still had a little time before their flight boarded, so they passed the time by sitting by the window and watching the planes move around in various different directions.

When their flight was called to board, they lined up and waited for their turn, and slowly they got to the front of the line. Puck, Rachel and Beth checked in first and then stepped away, but waited for the rest of their family to check in, before they all made their way to the plane.

Finding their tickets were all in the same row, they split up into three and four, since there were four seats on one side of the plane and three on the other. Beth took a window seat and Rachel sat next to her with Puck on the aisle of their side and the rest of their family sat across the aisle from the. Arin took the other window seat and Deborah sat next to her with David beside her and Alan sitting on the aisle.

"So now what do we do?" Beth asked looking around.

Rachel took her seat, "well, after dad puts our bags above us, we'll buckle our seatbelts and wait until the plane takes off," she explained, "then we'll be on our way."

"Cool," Beth smiled, "they've got seatbelts on planes? Weird," she added, raising a curious eyebrow at the lap belt.

"You don't have to wear it the whole time; only for take off, landing and if the pilot thinks we need to wear them. The rest of the time we can have it off," Rachel told her, helping her get her belt hooked.

...

Relaxing in their seats until the plane was finally loaded, the flight attendants began their safety speech and soon the plane was taxing out onto the runway and waiting for it's turn to take off.

"I'm scared," Beth murmured, now a little intimidated at the plane.

Rachel draped her arm around Beth's shoulders and kissed her cheek, "you're okay," she promised, "I was scared the first time I flew somewhere, but now it doesn't bother me at all."

"Really?" Beth bit her lip and leaned against her.

"Really," Rachel nodded, rubbing her back.

Puck reached around Rachel and took Beth's hand in his, "I'm nervous, too, but we'll be okay," he said honestly.

Rachel added her hand to theirs and smiled at Puck, "you're right. We will be," she nodded, just as the plane lifted off.

The first-time fliers hesitated a little, but once the plane leveled out, they relaxed and Beth pulled away from her parents to look out the window at the shrinking city below.

"Next stop, California," Puck grinned, wrapping his arms around Rachel's shoulders as they watched Beth.

"I'm so excited to for this trip, Noah," Rachel admitted, smiling at him.

Puck kissed her on the lips and returned her smile, "I definitely am, too, babe. We're gonna have an awesome time."

...

A/N5: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Let me know what you think! I'm looking forward to Disneyland. Lots of great things planned. Can't wait to get writing it!

A/N6: For those of you who read the recent updates to 'Out of the Blue' and 'Starlight', and if you haven't, then I was hinting at writing and posting Lark fics (meaning real person fiction (RPF) with Lea Michele and Mark Salling). Since my last updates, I finally posted my first fic. It's called 'Breaking The Rules' (link here - ( sapphiresfic . livejournal . com / 54783 . html )). I've decided it will be the beginning of a whole universe of fics for them going AU during Glee's '3x11-Michael' episode. Because RPF goes against FF's rules, it's only being posted on my LJ. I've mentioned it on my Tumblr account (EJ8302) and I've also updated my FF profile with the link and will continue doing that with all my other Lark fics. You're welcome to comment without having an LJ account on the fic there, or you can message me on Tumblr or FF. If you don't have either or want me to update you when I post them, send me a PM and we can discuss how I can let you know when I update them. (PS - I'm about 2/3 of the way done with the next Lark update, which should be ready soon!)

A/N7: I've become disgusted with Glee. I haven't watched an entire episode since season 3's Christmas episode and I don't think that will change. I haven't liked season 3 at all and I don't see the show getting any better in the future. They've ruined the characters I love. I am and always will be a Puckleberry shipper and now all I do is watch the show for Mark Salling, Lea Michele and Puckleberry or Lark moments. I will NOT stop writing Puckleberry (or Lark!), no matter what they do with the characters on the show, so don't worry that I'm going to stop writing - I won't! I love the characters too much to stop writing them, I promise! I also have tons of ideas that I won't give up on! ... Glee has cast Rachel's dads and they will first be shown in this week's episode, '3x13 - Heart'. Rachel's dads names will always be David and Alan Berry to me; David being the Jewish, light skinned dad and when I see David in my mind, I've always pictured Jeff Goldbum, so I was shocked to see he'd been cast as one of Rachel's dads. I think they have named his character Hiram, but to me he will always be David, which actually is the name of the character he played in Independence Day back in the 1990s. Just wanted to let you know that my stories will always have David and Alan as Rachel's dads, because the two men have grown on me so much that I won't change them to follow the show. I also thought I'd mention this, so you guys could share my mental image of David, if you didn't have one yet.

...


	15. Chapter 15

Title: Returning Home, Part 15/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

A/N3: AU after 1x13 ~ Sectionals.

A/N4: Puck and Rachel were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

...

The eight-hour non-stop flight to California passed by uneventful. The Berrys and Puckermans slept most of the trip and as they got closer, Rachel woke Beth, so she could see the view. Beth was amazed at the sights once the larger buildings started to become clearer from the window. "Wow! It's so big!" The child gasped, seeing the city stretch out for miles.

"It does seem like that," Rachel agreed, leaning over to look out the window with her.

As Rachel moved, her foot nudged her fiancé in the leg, which startled him, "whoa, what?" He groaned, waking up from his uncomfortable nap and rubbing his neck.

Rachel glanced at him when she realized what happened, "oh, I'm so sorry Noah, I didn't mean to wake you up," she replied, settling back in her seat and leaning over to press a kiss to his lips, "Beth and I were just looking out the window because we're almost to LA."

"Awesome," he smiled, taking a moment to wake up, before standing up himself to glance out the window, smiling at the view and also at seeing how Beth seemed to enjoy it. Pressing a kiss to her head, "what do you think, kiddo?" He asked, before moving to retake his seat.

"It's so cool!" Beth grinned, turning around to look at him and Rachel.

"That it is," he nodded in agreement.

...

Now that they were over LA, it wasn't long before the seatbelt sign went on and they were descending to the runway at LAX. As the wheels touched down, just before six-pm California time, the Berrys and the Puckermans were looking forward to their vacation. The plane slowly made it's way towards their gate and the passengers began to gather up their belongings. Once docked, everyone began to file off and with a break in groups of people, the family joined the line to leave and soon were walking off the plane and making their way into the busy terminal.

While walking to the baggage claim, making sure they stayed together, they talked about what they wanted to do next. By the time they reached the conveyer belts that their luggage would soon be on, they agreed that once they had their bags and had picked up their SUV, they'd stop to get something to eat before making their way to their hotel, about forty-five minutes away.

It took a bit, but finally they had all their luggage piled onto a cart, so they headed towards the car rental desks. Rachel, Puck, Beth, Arin and Deborah waited while Alan and David stood in line.

"It's going to be an early to be night, I think," Rachel commented, leaning against Puck as they sat in some uncomfortable chairs while waiting for her dads.

"Why?" Beth asked.

"Because it's been a long day. But tomorrow we'll be refreshed and ready for a fun day in Disneyland," Rachel replied with a smile.

Beth grinned, "awesome!"

...

David and Alan got through the rental car line pretty quickly and soon they were rejoining everyone and they all headed to pick-up their mini-van. It took a few minutes, but the guys got all of their luggage piled into the back end and then they all piled in to start their trip.

Putting the address to their hotel into the van's GPS, Alan began to follow the directions and found the nearest McDonald's. Beth voted for it and no one disagreed, so when they arrived, they went through the drive-thru line and ordered a variety of things to eat on their way to the hotel.

It was dark out, so they couldn't really see too much of the scenery, except a little where the lights lit up the street and surrounding buildings. Puck and Rachel were sitting in the back seat of the van and though Puck wasn't paying too much attention outside, he noticed a few billboards for Disneyland and one of them stood out even more than the others, "_that's an interesting idea,_" he thought, not wanting to mention it yet, "_I mean, it'd definitely be sudden, but it would be awesome. I wonder what Rachel would think of it._"

Pushing his thoughts aside for the moment, he decided to talk to David and Alan first, just to see how they felt about the idea before he brought it up to to Rachel or the others. Glancing at Rachel, who was leaning against him, he smiled, "how are you doing, babe?" He asked curiously, realizing he hadn't had a chance to talk to her much since they left Ohio.

"I'm great. Very excited," Rachel smiled, "how about you?"

"The same," he nodded in agreement and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "I hear Disneyland is magical and where dreams come true."

"I've heard that, too," she replied, "but I didn't need to be here to know they do," she admitted, looking at her engagement ring, "some of my dreams have already come true."

"I hope we're a part of some of them," he smiled at her.

"You guys are," she assured him, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips.

Puck returned her kiss, with one of his arms wrapped around her shoulders. "Very good to know," he whispered, as their lips parted and he let his free hand gently rest on her cheek.

...

"Wow!" Beth gasped, seeing the night sky being lit up by tons of lights covering rides and places all over Disneyland and the California Adventure Park. "It's huge!" She said, now that they were on a street with a view of the parks.

"It is," Rachel nodded in agreement, leaning forward in her seat, "and it's gonna take a few days for us to get through everything, but we're gonna have fun," she promised.

"And I'm sure we're going to miss things, but we've got time to see as much as we can," Puck added as Alan pulled the van up to the valet area in front of Disney's Grand Californian Hotel and Spa.

"We're staying here?" Rachel asked in surprise, since she hadn't thought to ask where they were staying.

David nodded from the passenger seat, "yeah. We got the best deal because they have suites here, better than the other hotels. Figured it'd be better if we were all in the same room, instead of two or three separate ones," he explained.

"That makes sense," she agreed, "I just didn't think about where we're staying. I guess maybe I just forgot to ask, since you guys were planning everything."

Alan smirked, "that was the point," he said as everyone began to unbuckle their seatbelts and open doors.

Gathering up their trash, they all climbed out of the van and met someone at the front of the hotel to help them load all of their things onto a cart. Once the car was empty, a valet took the keys and the family moved into the lobby to check in.

While Puck was glancing around the lobby, his eyes landed on a table, covered in brochures and other informational items for the hotel and parks. One of them standing up was a smaller version of the billboard he'd seen on their trip to the hotel, "_man, this has got to be a sign!_" He thought, as he tried not to stare or draw attention to what he was looking at.

"Alright, we have everything," Alan commented, walking over to them with his and David's hands full of key cards and some papers. "He's going to show us to our room," he added, motioning to one of the staff members dressed in the hotel's uniform.

Following the guy, who was pushing the cart with all their luggage, they followed him to the elevators and climbed on, making their way up to their floor. Once the elevator came to a stop, they followed the staff member down the hallway to their suite and David used one of the cards in his hand to unlock the door.

The room was pretty dark, but the curtain was still open, so as they all filed in, immediately distracted by the immaculate view of the park, all lit up for nighttime. As they turned on the room's lights, Beth skipped right over to the window to look out and Arin, Deborah and Rachel followed her, while the guys unloaded their luggage and tipped the staff member before he left.

Before David and Alan could walk over to join the girls, Puck rested his hands on their arms, "I need to talk to you guys tonight, privately," Puck murmured softly, talking below Rachel, who was explaining what they were looking at in the window.

The two men looked at him confused, but silently agreed with a nod, understanding Puck wouldn't have said that so quietly, unless he didn't want the others to know. Puck nodded his thanks and then the three joined the girls at the window to check out the view.

"The view is amazing. I didn't expect we'd have a park view," Rachel commented, "thank you, dad, daddy, for this trip," she said, wrapping her arms around David and Alan.

"Oh you're welcome, to all of you," David replied, hearing all of them saying 'thank you'. "We wanted to spend some time together as a family and this is definitely going to be a great and fun way to do that," he explained.

"It definitely is," Puck agreed, "but still, we wouldn't have been able to come without you guys helping out, so we really appreciate it."

"There's not much we wouldn't do for our family," Alan added, patting Puck on the shoulder, "what does everyone say about picking rooms and then we can sit down and discuss what we want to start with tomorrow," he suggested.

...

Taking a few moments to check out the set up of the suite, they found there was a master bedroom with a large bed and a private bathroom attached. David and Alan suggested that Rachel and Puck take it and though the couple thought Rachel's dads should have that one, the guys insisted, so they gave in. David and Alan took the other bedroom with one bed in it and Deborah, Arin and Beth took the third room, with two twin beds and a set of bunk beds.

Everyone wanted to unpack a little and change into comfortable clothes and Rachel wanted to hop into the shower, so while she was occupied, it gave Puck an opportunity to talk to David and Alan. Moving towards their room, he knocked on their half-open door and stepped inside when they let him. Closing the door behind him, he looked at the two, both digging clothes out of their suitcases, "so what's up, Noah?" Alan wondered.

"Uh," Puck blushed, stepping closer to them, "I know you guys might not think the same thing I do, but when we were coming here, I saw a billboard for Disneyland and it was a couple getting married in front of Cinderella's Castle. It was advertising weddings at Disneyland. I had a thought and then when we got here, I saw the same advertisement in the lobby," he explained, pausing to take a deep breath, "what would you guys think if Rachel and I got married while we're here? I mean, I don't even know if it'd even be possible, so I don't want to mention it to her until I know we could. That's why I wanted to talk to you guys. I know you've given me permission to propose, but we've only been engaged a month and now she's pregnant, and I don't want you guys to think that it's only because she is," he told them.

"We know it's not," David assured him with a smile, "and we gave you our blessing to marry her long before any of us knew she was pregnant."

"I'm sure you're not the only couple who has come here on a vacation and wanted to get married like this. It is possible," Alan replied, "but no one came prepared for a wedding, and we're only here a week. Tomorrow is a Sunday and also Christmas Eve, so the earliest you'd be able to go get a license is Tuesday," he added, knowing about the legal system and courts, even if he was from out-of-state.

"I guess we could talk to the concierge tonight or tomorrow morning and see if they can help us get in touch with whoever plans the weddings to find out if there are any times open this week," David suggested, "you don't want to tell Rachel until we know for sure, right?"

"Right," Puck nodded, "I think it's best to wait to tell her anything until we know more. I don't want her to get her hopes up and then not be able to fit it in," he replied, "and I know we didn't come prepared, so we'd have to go shopping to get clothes and rings, but I think we could do it."

"No doubt," Alan nodded, "and it might be easy to slip away tomorrow morning before we head to the park than it would be to leave tonight to go talk to someone."

"True," Puck agreed, "so you guys would be okay this?"

"Noah, you're already a son to us, Beth is a granddaughter to us, we'd be happy for you guys to make it official," Alan assured him, David nodding in agreement.

"Thank you," Puck smiled, unable to hide the sigh of relief. "it really means a lot that you accept me and Beth as family," he paused, "and Rachel deserves a big wedding, but I just thought it'd be just as important if we got married here, you know? We're in Disneyland and we have our family with us, it's the perfect place."

"That's true," David agreed, "and I think, since I know our daughter so well, she's not going to care how 'big' the wedding is, as long as we're all here and you two are getting married to officially make you guys a family."

Puck nodded, smiling at that, "I'd like to think so, because that's how I feel."

"I think she'll feel the same way. In the morning, we'll go talk to the concierge and see if it's an option," Alan told him.

"Great," Puck smiled, "thank you, guys."

...

Puck returned to his and Rachel's room just as she was coming out of the bathroom, a fluffy white towel wrapped around her, "hey babe, looking good," he grinned, moving towards her.

Rachel blushed, "thanks, sweetheart," she replied, leaning up to press a kiss on his lips when he was close to her, "where did you go?" She asked, noticing his luggage hadn't moved since she went to shower.

"I went to talk to your dads. You know, to thank them for the trip again. It just means a lot that they did this," he told her, glad it wasn't completely a lie.

"They love you guys and are happy to do it," she assured him.

"I know," he nodded, "we're damn lucky to have you guys in our lives. Some people might not be as accepting," he said honestly, wrapping his arms around her.

Settling into his embrace, Rachel nodded, "true, but now you don't have to worry about that," she admitted, looking up at him, "we're all right where we need to be."

Puck leaned down and kissed her, his hand gently tugging at the towel, "yeah we are," he murmured against her lips.

"Noah, we shouldn't do this right now," she blushed, letting him pull away the towel from around her body, "anyone could come in."

Laying the towel on the bed, Puck pressed his lips to hers, "you're gorgeous," he smiled, slowly kneeling down and laid a few kisses to her still damp stomach, "hey baby. I hope you let mom enjoy our trip without giving her too much trouble," he said softly, "and maybe when you're older we can bring you here, too."

Rachel couldn't help the tears that filled her eyes as she listened to his gentle words and watched and felt his fingertips brush along her skin. "Noah, you're amazing," she murmured, running her hands through his short hair before he stood up, "I love you."

"I love you, too," he replied, kissing her cheek and wrapping his arms around her to hold her close, "we're going to have an amazing vacation."

"Yes, we are," she agreed, hearing talking outside their room, "we should probably go join everyone," she added, hating that moment to end.

Puck kissed her lips and nodded, reluctantly letting her go, "we can continue later," he promised.

...

Letting Rachel get dressed, the couple joined their family in the main room of the suite and took seats on the couches and chairs around the room. David and Alan passed out their room key cards to Arin, Deborah, Puck and Rachel so they could all have access to the room and then they settled to talk about how they wanted to 'tackle' the Disney parks.

From experience in the past and things they'd been told, the Berrys knew it would take a few days to get through the two parks. They decided to focus on Disneyland first and then go for the Disney California Adventure Park later. Looking at the small map they had of Disneyland, they split it in half and agreed to spend the next day exploring the 'left' side of the map and see how much they got done in the first day, which was also Christmas Eve. They would spend the second day, Christmas Day, exploring the rest of the park and also, on one of the days, try to catch some of the Christmas themed parades and events.

The large family didn't spend too long talking about it, knowing they wanted to get up early, so after agreeing on a time, they started saying 'goodnight' and Puck and Rachel moved into Beth, Deborah and Arin's room to help Beth get tucked in.

"We're really here?" Beth asked as she settled into her bed with the stuffed animals she'd brought along from Ohio.

"We are," Rachel nodded, "are you excited for tomorrow?"

"Yeah!" Beth grinned, "it's going to be fun, but it's going to be a lot of walking, too."

"It will be, but we'll take breaks so we won't be walking the whole day," Puck assured her.

"Okay," she nodded, her eyes drifting closed as the day's events finally caught up with her.

"Dad and I are just a few rooms away. You know where, right?" Rachel asked and when Beth nodded, Rachel leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead before standing up.

"If you need anything you can come find us or grandma and Arin are in here, too," Puck said, moving closer to kiss Beth's cheek, "goodnight, kiddo. Love you."

"I know," Beth nodded, then smiled, "love you, too, daddy. You, too, mommy."

Rachel smiled, "and I love you, sweetheart."

...

Saying 'goodnight' to his mom and sister, Rachel and Puck left their room and headed for their own. Once their door was shut, she turned around and slid her arms around his waist, snuggling against him, "I'm really looking forward to our time here," she murmured.

Puck smiled, holding her close to him and guiding them back a few steps towards the bed, "I am, too, babe. It's going to be great to have some fun and not worry about work for a while. Just us and our family."

"Yeah," she nodded and stood up on her tiptoes, pressing a kiss to his lips, "did you plan on going right to sleep?" She wondered softly.

"The thought crossed my mind, but I was going to see what you were interested in doing," he grinned.

"Then maybe," she took a few steps back until her legs touched the edge of the bed and then reached out, pulling him towards her, "we could see just how comfortable our bed is," she winked.

"I definitely think that's a great idea," he agreed, unable to hide the grin on his face.

...

Because of the time change from Ohio to California, by the time their six-am cell phone alarms began to go off, most of the suite was already in varying stages of getting ready for the day. David and Alan were up, showered and dressed before six. At six, Deborah and Rachel were awake, taking showers and Puck took a shower after Rachel. Close to six-forty-five the only ones still in bed were Arin and Beth. Since everyone else was up, they let the girls sleep a little longer, not planning to start their adventure with breakfast for a while.

"David, Noah, why don't you guys come with me and we'll go down and get some coffees for everyone," Alan suggested, having another reason for the trip.

"You guys don't have to do that. We'll be fine for a little longer," Rachel replied.

Puck shrugged, "I actually was just thinking about it. I wouldn't mind some coffee," he admitted, "doesn't hurt to get started early. It's going to be an adventurous day and we'll need it."

"Oh, well, that is true. I guess it wouldn't hurt," Rachel agreed.

"Okay, we'll be back," David said, standing up from the chair he was sitting in.

Puck leaned over and pressed a kiss to Rachel's lips, "your usual?"

As much as Rachel wanted a mocha, she shook her head, "no. Just hot chocolate. I can't have the caffeine," she murmured, resting her hand on her stomach.

"Oh yeah, that's right," he nodded, "alright, I get you and Beth hot chocolate," he promised, kissing her once more before he stood up.

"Thank you, sweetheart," Rachel smiled.

Alan, David and Puck made their way to the door and once they knew they had their wallets and room keys with them, they headed out into the hallway silently. Once they were clear of the room and were on their way to the elevator, Puck smirked, "why do I feel like this is our way of getting downstairs to talk to the concierge without them suspecting."

"Because it is," David replied with a grin, stepping onto the elevator when it's doors opened. "We figured if we did it this morning, they can do some research for us and by this afternoon we could have an idea. That way, if it's possible, you can ask Rachel and maybe start making arrangements."

"Great idea," Puck nodded, taking a deep breath, "we're gonna have to get rings and I don't know where to even think about getting suits or dresses."

"We can figure that out. For now, let's see if it's even possible. The concierge and the wedding planner should be able to steer us in the right direction, too," Alan added.

"There is that," Puck agreed.

When the elevator came to a stop in the lobby, the three men stepped off and made their way towards the concierge desk and stood in line, a few families ahead of them. "Are you sure you want to do this, meaning getting married here?" David asked him, "you came to us about this, but if you're not sure, we don't have to ask them."

"I'm sure. I want Rachel to be my wife," Puck said honestly, without hesitation.

Alan and David shared a smile and nodded, "that's all we needed to know," Alan replied, patting Puck on the shoulder as they moved up to the now available concierge.

...

The three men talked to the concierge and explained what they were hoping for. The girl took down all their information and asked some questions, promising once she could get in touch with the wedding planner for the park, she'd find out if there was a open date in their time frame and would let them know as soon as possible.

Thanking the woman, Puck, Alan and David went over to the café to pick up some drinks for everyone and returned to the suite, hearing the shower going and seeing Beth up and sitting in a chair by the window.

"Where did you guys have to go to get coffee?" Deborah laughed lightly, "LA?"

"No, there was a line," Puck replied with a grin, handing the carrier in his hand to Rachel with a larger hot chocolate for her and and a smaller cup for Beth, "we're not the only ones with the same idea."

Rachel eyed him, having a feeling there was more to it, but didn't want to say anything in front of everyone, so she pushed it aside and turned her focus to something else, "once Arin is ready, we should be ready to go down to breakfast."

"Okay. Are we going to come back here before going into the park?" David wondered.

"I think it would be easier if we brought our stuff along and go right into the park. It'll save a trip," Deborah suggested.

"That makes sense," Alan agreed, "we should go get our jackets and cameras out of our luggage, then."

Rachel saw Puck nod moved towards their room, so she got up and followed him. Once they were both inside, she closed the door, "alright, what are you hiding?" She asked quietly, "you guys weren't just waiting in line in the café for almost a half an hour."

Puck had thought Rachel wouldn't believe them, so he turned around, "we were just asking the concierge some questions," he replied, "don't worry about it."

Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared at him, "Noah..."

"Alright," he sighed, gathering his thoughts, "look, we're trying to plan something for the family," he started. "I brought it up to your dads last night and we went to talk to the concierge before we got coffee. We don't know if it's possible, so they're going to let us know later today when they do some research. We don't want to get anyone's hopes up, so that's why we haven't said anything yet," he explained.

Rachel was silent for a long moment, soaking in what he said, "I see. What is it?"

Stepping closer to her, he rested his hands on her shoulders, "I know you're not a huge fan of surprises, but please just wait a little longer and I'll tell you everything. Like I said, I don't want you or anyone to get their hopes up and then not be able to have it happen."

Taking a deep breath, she sighed, "alright, I can wait. I just don't like you hiding things from me."

"I don't like it either, but it's seriously going to be worth the wait to find out," he grinned, "I really hope it can happen and hopefully we'll know for sure in a few hours. I'll tell you as soon as I know, I promise."

"You better," she warned, then relaxed and leaned against him, "it better be good."

Puck grinned, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead, "it's gonna be awesome."

...

A/N5: I hope you guys enjoyed! This chapter is shorter than I expected, but I wanted to get something to you guys. I didn't realize it'd been almost two months since my last update. I'm so sorry about that. I've been sick and I'm finally on antibiotics, so hopefully I'll be feeling better soon. I also stopped here, because I'm waiting for some information about Christmas time in Disneyland from a friend who visits the park several times a year, because she lives near it. Hopefully I can get it soon so I can work on the next chapter.

A/N6: Thank you, everyone, for sticking with me. It really means a lot! Love you all! I promise that no matter what, I will always continue to write Puckleberry. Even if the show sucks now and I'm disgusted with how it's turned out. Even if Puckleberry will never get another chance, I will continue to write and ship them, so don't worry. I'm not going anywhere!

A/N7: After updating this story last, I posted two Lark (Lea/Mark RPF) fics. They are only posted on my LJ (RPF is against FF's rules) and you're welcome to read/comment without having an LJ account. If you'd like me to message you when I update them again, I can do that, just let me know. The links are below. Both fics are going to be part of a WIP series, AU after 1/1/2012 and the end of 3x11 - Michael.

'Breaking The Rules' ( sapphiresfic . livejournal . com / 54783 . html ) - Lea and Mark finally get to spend a New Year's Eve together!

'Something To Talk About' ( sapphiresfic . livejournal . com / 55471 . html ) - continued from 'Breaking The Rules' - After the events of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, Mark and Lea definitely have a lot to talk about.

...


	16. Chapter 16

Title: Returning Home, Part 16/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

A/N3: AU after 1x13 ~ Sectionals.

A/N4: Puck and Rachel were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

...

Rachel was definitely curious what her dads and fiancé were hiding, and tried to push her thoughts aside, but she couldn't help wondering what they were planning. She knew it was Christmas Eve and was thinking they were planning some sort of holiday party or private event for the family just because they were there, even though they didn't really celebrate Christmas. She also wondered if it had something to do with the park, or a private tour for all of them, so Beth could really see everything.

"Earth to Rachel," Puck said, waving his hand in front of her face, "babe, where are you?" He asked, noticing she'd drifted off into space over breakfast.

Shaking from her thoughts, she blushed, "sorry, I was thinking about something."

"What's up?" Puck wondered, "you okay?"

"Oh, yes, I am," she nodded, "I was just thinking about what we're gonna do when we get home," she admitted, trying to cover up her actual thoughts.

"Really? What about?" Puck asked curiously, "because we're on vacation and can probably wait until we get home to worry about whatever it is you're thinking of."

Rachel blushed, "yes, I suppose we could. I was just thinking about my place. It's obvious that I'm not moving back into it, so I need to let my landlord know I'm moving out. I haven't done that yet and there are still some larger furniture items we need to move and at the moment, I don't think we have the space at the house to bring them over, so we'll need to find a place for them until we know what we're doing, you know?" She commented, being careful with her words because she didn't want Beth to get upset.

Puck nodded in understanding, "yeah that's something we'll have to figure out. I'm sure we could fit it all into our house, but we'll have to see. We could always rent a small storage unit in town, or move it all to your house, if you guys have room," he suggested, glancing at David and Alan.

"It's an option," Alan confirmed, "and like Noah said, we can wait until we get home to work out the details."

"True," Rachel nodded and sat back in her seat a little. "I don't know why I thought about it all of a sudden."

"You're not used to relaxing," David smirked.

"Yes I am, but not away from home," she replied with a blush.

Puck reached up and rubbed her neck gently, "I'm not used to this either, but let's have fun this week," he suggested with a smile.

"Okay," she smiled.

Before they could say anything else, their server came over to refill their water glasses and start clearing plates away. The restaurant had 'all you can eat' pancakes for breakfast and the table had all gone through two plates each, but decided to stop; everyone except Rachel. She asked for another plate and when their sever walked away, Rachel noticed the surprised looks on their faces, "what? I'm..." she quickly caught herself from saying 'eating for two', and decided to just say, "I'm hungry. Dinner last night didn't seem to be as filling as I thought it would be," she explained.

Though Beth was clueless, everyone else knew exactly what Rachel was going to say. They were all being extra careful about their choice of words, because of Puck and Rachel's choice to keep the pregnancy from Beth for a while, and they'd all found times when they'd almost slipped something around Beth.

When Rachel's pancakes came, the others talked and continued to sip on water and her mind began to drift again, this time to Beth. They'd talked about telling her during the trip, but never went into exact details and sometimes they talked about waiting longer, but Rachel knew they should tell her as soon as possible. The last thing she wanted was for any of them to accidentally let slip something Beth would understand or have her be curious enough to ask, putting them on the spot.

"The park's opening in about ten minutes, so we should probably start making our way over to the gates," Puck commented, glancing at his phone to see the time.

Rachel nodded, working on the last of her pancakes and reached for her purse, sitting on the floor next to her. She wanted to talk to Puck, but she knew she wouldn't get a chance to be alone with him for a while, so she thought of a quick idea to get a few minutes with him, and opened her bag, pretending to look for something, "I've got my camera, but I didn't grab an extra battery. I need to go back to our room and get it, but I don't remember if I put it in your bag or mine," she told him, "can you come help me look after we leave here."

"Uh, sure," Puck nodded, raising a curious eyebrow at her, "but don't you think what you've got will be okay?"

"Maybe, but I just want it in case. If I take any videos or do a lot of picture taking it could run low and I don't want it to die before I have a chance to charge it again," she explained.

"If you two would like to go do that now, we'll take care of the bill and wait for you guys in the lobby," David suggested, "if you're ready, that is."

"I am," Rachel nodded, pushing her plate away.

Puck glanced at her dads, "you sure? I can cover some of it," he admitted.

"Don't worry about it," Alan waved off his offer.

"Uh, alright," Puck replied, glancing at Rachel, "let's go, babe."

Standing up, Rachel grabbed her purse and jacket and stepped away from the table, "we'll meet you in the lobby in a few minutes," she promised.

Puck leaned over and pressed a kiss to Beth's forehead, "be good while we're gone, okay?"

"I will," she nodded, "don't be too long. I wanna go to the park!" She added happily.

He laughed lightly, but nodded, "I know. We'll be quick," he told her, then stood up and followed Rachel out of the restaurant. Once they were in the lobby and waiting for the elevator, he smirked, "so, do you really need something in our room or are you just saying that to get us away from the family for a little fun?" He wondered, slipping his arms around her from behind and resting his hands on her stomach.

"Noah, this is a family hotel," she murmured, blushing at what he was hinting at, "that's tempting, but I just wanted to talk to you away from everyone."

"Oh really? About what?" He asked, stepping onto the elevator when the doors opened.

Rachel hit the button for their floor and took a deep breath, "about telling our daughter that I'm pregnant," she said honestly, "we haven't talked too much about it and when we have brought it up, we've talked about telling her while we're here or waiting a bit. That's really what I was thinking about earlier. Then I almost slipped and said I was eating for two, and had anyone not figured it out and said something, it could have started Beth asking questions and I think it's just better that we tell her," she explained, stepping off the elevator on their floor and moving in the direction of their room.

"I've been thinking about that, too. She gets that Aunt Santana is gonna have a baby, so I know she'll understand that part, but because it's you, it's different, too... I think you mentioned it before that you didn't want her to think we're replacing her and while I don't think that will happen, I don't know if she'll get jealous or anything like that. I hope she takes it well, but there's still a chance, you know?" Puck asked, looking at her.

"I do know and I've been worried about the same thing. I also don't want her to ever think I won't love her anymore, now that I'm having a baby with you, when she's not really biologically mine. She is and always will be my daughter and I hope she never doubts that," she admitted, taking a deep breath and pulling the key card from her bag as they reached their door.

As Rachel opened their door, Puck followed her inside, "she won't think that, I know for sure, but it also won't hurt to make that clear when we tell her. We also are not going to do anything to make her feel unloved, I hope, and we could keep an eye on each other to make sure it doesn't happen," he suggested. "Beth's smart, and as long as we reassure her that we love her and show it, she'll be okay."

Rachel smiled and nodded, "we'll make sure she know she's loved and I really," she paused to gather her thoughts, "I really want this baby to help bring all of us closer. I know we're close now, but this way there's going to be a biological link between us. It may sound crazy, but this is a big deal for all of us."

"It is," he agreed and stepped closer to wrap his arms around her, "and our new baby will definitely bring all of us closer, that I'm sure of," he added, kissing her gently, "so, do you want to tell Beth today?"

"Would that be okay?" She wondered.

"Yeah, I think it will be. Maybe later on, after we've spent some of the day in the park. I don't want to just drop it on her," he told her.

Rachel nodded, "okay, that makes sense. I'm a bit nervous to tell her, but I am really hoping it goes well and she's super excited to have a sibling. I know when I was a kid, as much as I liked being an only child, I always, in the back of my mind, wanted to have a brother or sister."

"She's brought it up before, but given that I wasn't with anyone, it wasn't possible. Now it is and I'm so happy that we're expanding our family," Puck smiled at her, reaching up to rest a hand on her cheek as they stood in the middle of the hotel room.

Leaning into his touch, Rachel returned his smile, "I feel the same way, Noah," she replied, stepping closer to slide her arms under his open jacket

"Good to know," he pressed a kiss to her lips, before giving her a loving hug. As much as he wanted to stay there, he knew their family was waiting for them and if they were gone too long they might come looking for them, "I hate to do this, but we should get going. Did you really need to get a camera battery or was that just to get me up here?" He wondered, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

Rachel blushed, "it was more to just get you alone, but it wouldn't hurt to get it," she admitted honestly, stepping back a little, grabbing his hand and guiding them into their room.

...

Though the couple enjoyed their few moments alone, they also wanted to get back to their family. Rachel got what she went up for and soon the two were joining everyone in the lobby. After brief greetings, the group left the hotel and began to follow the signs to the main gates of the park.

"Beth, remember to stay with one of us at all times," Puck reminded her as they walked, while she held onto Rachel's hand.

"I will," she promised, bouncing excitedly as they got closer.

Reaching the gates, they found the lines were very long to get in already, but David and Alan had planned ahead. They'd gotten passes already and since they were staying at a Disney hotel, they were able to use a different line, which was a lot shorter and allowed them to get into the park in about fifteen minutes.

When they had gotten in, they were given a large map of the park, along with a list of the characters and where to find them and Rachel, Beth and Arin immediately started picking out who they wanted to meet. Also in a brief discussion, they agreed to keep with their plan from the night before about only focusing on one side of the park, knowing they had plenty of time to cover it all.

The day was overcast, but it was a lot warmer than it had been back in Ohio, so they were all dressed in light jackets and the park was colorfully decorated with lights, Christmas trees and other holiday decorations. They entered the park at Main Street USA and found it was mostly shops and places to eat, so they took in the sights, pointing things out, taking pictures and working their way further into the park.

As soon as they reached the end of Main Street USA, there was no mistaking what they could see across from them: Sleeping Beauty Castle, also decorated for the holiday. It was blocked off, so no one could go in it and there were several families posing in front of the castle for pictures, so once there was a free space, Rachel, Puck and their family moved towards the spot and did the same thing as the others - take in the sights and get pictures.

Rachel thought it was a little strange for the castle to be blocked off, but figured there was a reason and noticed inside there were park employees setting up chairs, "I bet I know why it's closed off," she commented.

"Why?" Beth wondered.

"I think they're setting up for a wedding," she said honestly, "it would definitely be romantic to get married in the castle. I knew of people having them here, but I didn't expect one today, being that it's Christmas Eve."

"It's possible. People have had their weddings on holidays before," Puck told her, glancing inside to see what she was talking about, "but I wouldn't want to be inside. I'd want to be outside, so a photographer could take pictures and have the castle in the background," he commented with a shrug, "it'd make more sense."

Rachel studied her fiancé and raised a curious eyebrow, surprised at what he said, "you've thought about a wedding here?"

"Why do you look so surprised?" He laughed lightly, "just because I'm a guy, doesn't mean I can't think about things like that."

"Oh, I didn't mean..." She blushed, "I just didn't expect you to say that, sorry."

He smirked, and wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her close. Leaning in, he pressed a kiss to her lips, "there's a lot of things I think about and getting married to you is definitely one of them."

The blush on Rachel's cheeks continued to grow as her heart fluttered, "it is?"

"Of course it is," he reached up and brushed a hand along her cheek, "marrying you is gonna be one of the best days of my life," he said honestly.

"Mine, too. One of the other best days was coming back into your life and becoming part of the family," she replied happily, glancing at Beth, "and getting a daughter."

"I'm glad you're my mommy. I love you," Beth smiled, reaching out to take Rachel's hand.

Rachel smiled and pulled back from Puck, so she could wrap her arms around Beth, "I love you, too, sweetheart, and being your mom is one of the best feelings in the world," she told her honestly, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Puck rubbed Rachel's back and was glad Beth slightly changed the subject, so Rachel wouldn't continue to ask more about a Disney wedding or what he was thinking. He didn't want to spoil the surprise or get her hopes up and he was afraid if he said much more he'd let slip something on accident.

"Really?" Beth wondered, looking at Rachel.

"Yes, really," Rachel nodded, smiling at what Puck was doing and then turned her gaze back on the young Puckerman, "because you're the coolest little girl ever and the moment I met you, I felt a motherly connection to you. I know you're not mine biologically, but I see me in you and it's very easy for me to feel like you are," she explained.

Beth hugged her tightly, "I feel like you're my real mommy, too."

Rachel returned Beth's hug and relaxed a lot. She meant every word she'd said and to get Beth's response meant so much to her. She also knew it was a good thing that it came up when it did, because they wouldn't have to reassure her about how Rachel felt later in the day, while telling Beth she'd soon be a big sister.

Loving the wonderful moment between her and Beth, Rachel was content to stay right there, but she also knew they had a lot of ground to cover in Disneyland and they shouldn't spend too much time where they were, or they'd run out of daylight to see everything they'd planned on that day. Rachel also realized they had the rest of their lives to share moments like that and gave in, pulling away, "alright, kiddo. I love hugging you, but we're in Disneyland. Why don't we get going and check it out?"

Beth grinned and grabbed Rachel's hand again, "okay!"

...

The family moved on to Adventureland, a jungle themed area and home of the Jungle Cruise, Tarzan's Treehouse and a few shops and eateries. Beth wasn't really interested in those attractions, so after looking around and getting some pictures, they moved to the next area, which included the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

In walking around, they decided they'd check out the area of the map they'd talked about covering, before getting into any lines for rides. That way, if they did have to wait in a longer line, they wouldn't feel like they were behind on what they wanted to do in the park that day.

Taking in the sights of New Orleans Square, they moved on, past the Haunted Mansion and looked out over the small river to see Tom Sawyer's Island, the Sailing Ship Columbia and the Mark Twain Riverboat out on the water. Everyone agreed they'd like to go on both of the boats, so they added that to the list of things 'to do' that day and after some pictures, they moved on to their next destination.

Seeing Splash Mountain, even though it was something they should do, they knew they'd get wet, but didn't want to spend part of the day that way, so they decided they wouldn't even attempt it. Settling to just get some pictures, they moved further into Critter Country, home of Winnie the Pooh and friends.

Beth was walking in between Puck and Rachel and as they neared where the characters usually hung out, she saw her favorite Winnie the Pooh character. "Daddy, look! It's Tigger!" Beth exclaimed, grabbing his hand and pointing towards the person dressed in a large orange and black striped tiger costume.

"I see that," he smiled, "you wanna go meet him?"

"Yeah! Can we?" She asked, hopeful.

"Of course we can," Rachel nodded, "we just need to get in line with everyone else."

"Awesome!" Beth grinned, "daddy likes Tigger, too! He always got me Tigger stuff when I was a baby."

"Really?" Rachel looked at Puck and could see his cheeks flushing, "I didn't know that."

"Yeah. The Pooh characters are all cool, but Tigger has always been my favorite. I don't know why, but I think it's because I like tigers," he explained.

"It could be. I don't have a favorite Winnie the Pooh character. I love them all. Looks like Eeyore and Pooh are also here, too," she added, "maybe we can meet them all."

Beth nodded, having seen the other two, "I hope so! But I really wanna meet Tigger."

...

Standing in line, the family relaxed and waited until it was their turn to reach the characters. As they got to the front, Tigger was the first one there and as soon as he saw Beth, he waved at her and held out his arms for her and Rachel encouraged her to go up to him, so Beth walked over and gave him a hug.

As they hugged, David was recording the moment and Rachel was snapping a few pictures and then Beth turned around and Tigger straightened up, so they could get the photos of them together. Puck and Rachel moved up to him and after quick hugs, Beth stood in front of him and Puck and Rachel stood on each side to get a family picture with him.

Along with Tigger was a Disney employee and they suggested the whole family join them and she'd take their pictures. Passing a few cameras to the employee, the family moved around him and the whole group posed for a few photos and afterward, a few of the family members got some shots with just Tigger and then Rachel had an idea. She stepped over and whispered something in his 'ear' and his paw came up to his mouth, like he was in shock, and then he rubbed his stomach, and then rested his paw on Rachel's stomach.

Everyone, except Beth, knew what Rachel was doing and they quickly snapped a few pictures of them standing there. "Thanks, Tigger!" Rachel said happily as they pulled back, and then leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Tigger acted like he was embarrassed and gave Rachel another hug before she walked away and then he bounced over to Beth and gave her a playful kiss on the cheek, too. Beth giggled and gave him a hug and handed him a small book Rachel had given her to get the character's autographs and he happily signed 'Tigger' on it. "Thanks! See you later, Tigger," she said happily and he replied with a wave.

Moving on to Eeyore and Pooh, the family did the same thing and Rachel made sure to get pictures of the character's hands on her stomach. After, they decided to head back towards the Pirates of Caribbean, so they could have lunch at one of the restaurants near it and soon they were seated in Café Orleans, waiting for their orders.

Beth had been confused at what Rachel had done, but didn't ask anything until they were all seated, Beth sitting between Puck and Rachel. When she asked, the couple exchanged glances, trying to figure out what to say. They'd talked about telling her that day, but with her question, Puck shrugged, "I think it'd be okay to tell her now."

"Tell me what?" Beth wondered, looking at Puck and then turning to Rachel.

Rachel took a nervous breath and smiled at her, "there's a special reason why I wanted them to do that."

"Why?" Beth asked, trying to figure out what they were keeping from her.

"You know how Santana is pregnant with a baby?" Rachel asked her.

"She and Uncle Finn are gonna be parents," she replied, "the baby is growing inside her."

"Exactly," Rachel nodded, "and the same thing that's happening to her, is going to start happening to me," she said, trying to figure out the right words, "I'm pregnant, too."

Beth's eyes widened, "you are? But you don't look like it," she pointed to her flat stomach.

Puck smiled, "remember how Santana's tummy was flat and then as the baby grew you could start to see where it was? The same thing's happening to mom. The baby is really small right now, but as it grows, we'll see it more."

"Oh yeah! I remember!" Beth commented, as a question came to her, "um, do I get to be it's big sister?"

"Yes you do," Rachel confirmed, "and I promise, you will _always_ be my daughter, no matter what. I'm going to always love you the same as I do now and that's never going to change, so don't ever think it will," she said, reaching out to rest her hand on Beth's shoulder.

"And we want to make sure you know that we're only expanding our family. We're not trying to replace you," Puck added, resting his hand on Beth's other shoulder.

"I know. I believe you," Beth assured them as she glanced to each of them.

"Good," Rachel smiled, relaxing a little now that Beth finally.

"What's it gonna be?" Beth wondered.

"We won't know for a while. It could be a boy or a girl," Puck responded. "We'll be happy either way."

Beth nodded in understanding, "oh okay... But I'm still gonna be a big sister?" She asked again and when Puck and Rachel nodded at her, she smiled, "awesome!"

"Really? You're okay with this?" Rachel asked, hopeful.

"Yeah!" She replied, jumping up and throwing her arms around Rachel, "this is so cool!"

...

Now that Beth knew, everyone at the table was glad they didn't have to worry about accidentally slipping something about the pregnancy around her. They were also happy she had taken it so well. They all knew the moment could have been different, and they were thankful she was excited for the expansion of the family.

Their food had arrived shortly after they told Beth and everyone dug into lunch, relaxing and definitely enjoying their vacation. Beth asked Rachel again about the 'weird' pictures she'd gotten that day. Rachel explained it was a way to say the baby had 'met' the characters before they'd been born and Beth seemed to understand that, so the conversation settled and they continued eating.

As everyone began to finish their meals, David's phone began to ring and he quickly answered it. Puck, David and Alan all knew what the call was and Puck was hoping for some good news. "Hello... Yes, it is... Oh you did? Okay... Wow! When? Really?" David asked for a pen to write with and once Deborah handed him one from her bag, he grabbed a clean napkin from the table and began writing something on it, "okay, that's understandable. I'll let them know and we'll figure out if we can do this or not. Who do we contact directly about arrangements?" David nodded as he wrote the information down, "alright, thank you so much... I'll do that," he smiled and hung up his phone, before putting it away.

"What's that all about?" Rachel asked, looking at him curiously.

David smiled and returned Deborah's pen and then handed Puck the napkin he'd written the notes on, "ask Noah."

Rachel was now even more confused and turned to look at her fiancé, "Noah?"

Puck took the napkin and turned it so he could read what David had written. There was a date and time, a name and a phone number. "_Yes!_" He exclaimed mentally, then glanced at Rachel and slid his chair out a little, "come here, babe."

Still confused, but also curious, she stood up and moved to sit on his lap, "okay, so what's up? What was that phone call all about?"

Once she was settled, Puck wrapped his arms around her and took a deep breath as he gathered his thoughts, "earlier you realized we were up to something, but I begged you to wait and let me tell you when I knew more," he started, smiling brightly, "I can assume that was our hotel's concierge. We asked them to get us some information and they promised to call as soon as they found out what we needed to know," he paused and picked up the napkin and handed it to her, "I got the idea when we were coming to the hotel and now that I know it's possible, I can tell you. What would think about getting married on Thursday, here at Disneyland?"

Rachel's mouth fell open in shock as she gasped, "what? Are you serious," she glanced at the napkin and saw 'Thursday, December 28 at 2pm' written with a name and number, which she figured was to the park's wedding planner.

"I am, Rachel. I want to marry you. I want us to be legally husband and wife and I know we'd have a lot to do in a short amount of time, but if you want, we can do this. I know this is a big decision and if you'd rather wait until we get home, I'd understand, but..."

Pressing a kiss to his lips, Rachel silenced his words and after a moment she pulled back and smiled at him, one of her hands coming to rest on his cheek, "I want to marry you, too," she said honestly, "and this is a lot to take in and very sudden," she glanced around at the table and then turned her eyes back to him, "but getting married here would be so wonderful, so I say let's do it! Let's get married here," she finished, tears forming in her eyes.

"Really? You want to?" Puck asked, wanting to make sure he wasn't hearing things.

"Yes, I want to," she confirmed, pressing a kiss to his lips, "besides a few friends from back home, the most important people in our lives are right here. I don't need a huge ceremony with hundreds of guests. As long as we become husband and wife, I'm perfectly happy with having a small ceremony, in front of the people we love the most and having it somewhere here in Disneyland would definitely make our special moment even more romantic and memorable."

Puck tightened his arms around her in a loving hug, "I feel the same way, baby," he grinned.

Rachel returned his hug and as she looked at him again, she smiled, "we're getting married, Noah!" She said happily, "I can't wait! But we've got so much to do! I need to find a dress and we don't have any rings, so we need to get those and I don't think..."

"Babe, relax. We'll take care of it," he promised, glancing at his mom and sister who had shocked looks on their faces, "you two okay with this?"

"Of course we are," Deborah replied happily and Arin nodded in agreement.

"Great!" Rachel grinned and looked at Beth, "so what do you think about dad and I getting married?"

"I think it's awesome!" Beth exclaimed, "then you'll be my mommy for real!"

"_Well, kinda. Making that totally official is gonna be the next step,_" Puck thought.

Rachel nodded at what Beth said and took a deep breath, "you guys knew about this?" She asked, looking at her dads.

"Yeah, Noah came to us last night and asked what we thought of it," Alan replied, "and we're definitely supporting it."

"I wouldn't have asked you, without them being okay with it," Puck added, looking at her.

"I know," Rachel smiled, "and I also don't like surprises that much, but this one... It was definitely worth it! I love it. I love you," she turned to look at Puck again.

"I love you, too, Rach, or should I say soon-to-be Mrs. Puckerman," he grinned.

"I definitely like the sound of that," she confirmed, kissing him once more, and then looked at the napkin with David's writing on it, "I think we should contact the wedding planner to let her know we're going with that day."

Puck nodded and smiled at her, "yeah, I definitely think that's a good place to start."

...

Thanks to my new friend, **polarpi**, who stepped up to help me with my Disneyland questions!

...

A/N5: Wow! An update! Hope you guys liked. Let me know what you think! I'm not sure if the wedding will be the next chapter or the one after; depends on how much I can fit into one chapter... So much to tell you all... I don't know where to start!

A/N6: You can always catch up with me on Tumblr and Twitter - I'm EJ8302. I also have gotten an account with Archive of Our Own (AO3) as SapphireEJ, but I haven't gotten my fics posted there yet. That's one of the projects I have on my 'to do' list. Eventually I'll post at LJ, FF and AO3.

A/N7: I'm sorry it's been four months since my last update. I had some medical issues come up after I updated last (in April 2012), which is the main reason why I didn't update sooner. I did update some of my other WIPs, because I had chapters written for them or enough planned out so I could focus on writing the chapters, but unfortunately that wasn't the case for this fic, so I decided to put it aside for a while. I also didn't hear from my friend about Disney until a few weeks ago, when I wrote her again, because she had things going on she was dealing with. Before she got back to me, my new friend, poloarpi, had already helped me out, so I was finally able to get started on this fic... I say all this, because I got a review from an anon, saying I could have asked my readers for help with Disney, because it shouldn't have taken this long to get the information... Yes, I could have asked you all for help, and I would have, if I had known it would take several months to get information from the person who first promised me they'd help, but I still got sick and still would have put this fic to the side, because it would have taken more to catch up on it, than my other WIPs... I'm truly sorry if anyone is mad because it's been so long since my last update. I didn't mean for it to be this long, but when my medical issues came up, I had to take care of myself.

A/N8: To explain, I started having pain in my abdomen and issues eating certain foods in late-April / early-May. After a few doctor's appointments, an ultrasound, a trip to a specialist, another test and a follow-up, they finally found that my gallbladder was only working at 6%, which is why I felt like crap. I saw a surgeon in early June and on June 12th, I had my gallbladder removed. The surgery went great and I'm doing pretty well. My surgeon said it could take several months to get back to being 100% and I'm still having issues with certain foods, because my body is still getting used not having a gallbladder. I'm not totally back to myself yet, but I'm getting there... This is why updates have been pretty spaced out, but hopefully once I get totally back into my writing groove, I'll have more updates. Thanks for everyone sticking with me and for all the supportive messages I've gotten. It means a lot!

...


	17. Chapter 17

Title: Returning Home, Part 17/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

A/N3: AU after 1x13 ~ Sectionals.

A/N4: Puck and Rachel were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

...

**Thursday, December 28, 2017**

Rachel stared at herself in the full length mirror, amazed to be wearing _the_ white gown and also excited for what was to come. "_Noah and I are finally getting married!_" She thought, "_I can't believe we were able to get everything arranged, get things to wear, find rings, get a license and still have time to hang out in the parks as a family!_"

Moving over to the bed, she picked up her veil and carefully slid the clip into her styled hair and then adjusted it over her head and shoulders, before returning her gaze to the mirror. Just as she smiled, a light knock on the door caught her attention, "come in!"

The door opened and Deborah stuck her head in, "are you doing okay in here?" She asked, smiling as she moved inside.

"Yes, I am," Rachel grinned, "how do I look?"

"You look so beautiful," Deborah admitted, walking over and holding out her arms, "your dads and Noah are going to be amazed at how gorgeous you are."

Rachel stepped into her waiting arms to share a hug, "thanks mom," she murmured, relaxing for a moment, "and you look beautiful, too," she added when they pulled apart.

"Thanks, sweetheart. It's definitely not something I'm used to wearing," Deborah paused to glance down at the long lavender dress she had on, with a white belt around her waist and a matching lavender shrug that covered her shoulders, "but I'm happy to dress up for this; it's not every day my son gets to marry the love of his life."

"I'm really glad you feel that way, because I love you all so much and I'm so happy to be a part of your family," Rachel replied honestly, taking a deep breath to calm the butterflies building in her stomach, "are the girls ready yet?" She wondered, glancing around to see if she'd done everything.

"Almost. Beth is and Arin was just putting her dress on. Noah called and everything is ready. He and your dads are just waiting for us to get there, but we don't have to hurry," the older woman explained.

"Awesome! I'm ready, so as soon as Arin is finished, I don't see why we couldn't get going."

"Mommy, you look so pretty!" Beth said, skipping into the bedroom and over to her.

"Thank you," Rachel smiled, wrapping her arms around Beth, "and I know you don't like dresses, but I think you look so beautiful," she told her honestly.

"Really? You think so?" Beth looked down at her floor length dress, in the same material and color as Deborah's and Arin's, "it just feels weird."

"Yes, I really think so and I know it's not what you're comfortable wearing, but you'll only have to wear it for a few hours and then you can go back to wearing what you're more comfortable in," Rachel promised, "but you never know. You may just like dressing up once and a while."

"I don't think so, but maybe," she laughed.

"Fair enough," Rachel agreed, "now, I don't know if you can tell, but I'm really excited to marry your daddy, so I think we should see if Arin is ready, so we can get going."

"I heard that and I'm ready," Arin commented from the doorway, "wow, Rachel, you look awesome," she told her, smiling brightly, "seeing you trying dresses on is one thing, but to see it now, it's even better!"

Rachel returned her smile, "thank you, sis."

Deborah guided the girls out of the room and motioned around, "I'll call down and let the carriage know we're on our way and you girls double check that you have everything."

...

Standing right under the archway into the castle with the Justice of the Peace, David and Alan, Puck took a moment to look around and gather his thoughts. A lot had gotten done in a short amount of time and he was really looking forward to sliding Rachel's ring onto her finger and finally being husband and wife. They'd opted to go with a Justice of the Peace wedding, without a specific religious element, because the only rabbi they wanted to perform the ceremony was in Lima. It wasn't possible to get him there on such short notice, so Rachel and Puck decided to renew their vows sometime in the future, back home in Lima, and at that time, they'd honor their many Jewish traditions to have a ceremony that all of their friends and extended family could attend. Until then, they wanted to get married while they were on their family vacation in Disneyland, so they chose to overlook the religious aspects for the time being.

"You ready, Noah?" Alan asked.

Puck smiled happily at him, "I'm nervous because this is a big step for us and our family, but I am definitely ready," he paused, "I can't wait to see Rachel in her dress. Actually, I can't wait to see all of them."

"We're looking forward to that, too," David agreed, patting him on the shoulder.

"You do have the rings, right?" Puck asked, glancing at David.

"Yes, I still do after the last time you asked me. Relax," he replied with a grin, pulling the ring box out and showing him the two rings, "see?"

Puck rubbed his neck nervously and blushed, "yeah, sorry. Maybe I'm more nervous than I thought and I'm wondering what they're gonna think when they see all the guests," he commented, motioning down the brick walkway that led to the castle, currently lined with various Disney characters, including Mickey, Minnie, Jasmine, Aladdin, Pooh, Tigger, Mulan, Mushu, Belle, the Beast, after he'd changed back into a human, Tinkerbell, Rapunzel, Flynn Rider from Tangled and many more characters spanning years of Disney history.

"They'll be shocked, but I'm sure they'll love it," Alan assured him, seeing a horse drawn carriage making it's way towards the castle.

"I think we're about to find out," David added, then turned to Puck, "we're going to go meet them. You okay?"

"I'm great," Puck nodded, watching the two men walk to meet the carriage.

...

Originally, Rachel wasn't sure about the horse drawn carriage, but Puck insisted, so she gave in. Puck told her she deserved it, because to him, she was a queen and he wanted her to feel like it. Now she, Deborah, Arin and Beth riding in it to the castle for the ceremony. As the carriage neared the castle, all four women saw the large group of Disney characters lining the walkway, "oh my!" Rachel gasped, taking in the sight.

"This is so cool! Now we know why Noah kept asking about all the characters we liked," Arin commented with a grin.

"We sure do," Deborah agreed as the carriage came to a stop at the end of the walkway, where Alan, David and three characters were waiting.

"Hey, dad, daddy," Rachel grinned, "what is going on?"

"We invited a few guests and these guys are going to walk Deborah, Arin and Beth down the aisle," Alan explained casually, motioning towards Aladdin, dressed in his more formal Prince Ali costume, Flynn Rider, and Tigger with a bow tie around his neck, who all waved in greeting to the newest arrivals.

"Are you ready sweetheart?" David asked Rachel.

Rachel nodded, "in just a few minutes, I'll be Mrs. Noah Puckerman, I can't wait! I'm definitely ready."

"Then I believe we have a wedding to get to," Alan confirmed.

...

Their wedding planner, who was sorting things out, motioned at the Justice of the Peace and he waved back to let them know he and Puck were ready. David and Alan complimented Beth, Arin and Deborah as they helped them out of the carriage and shared hugs briefly before getting ready for the next step. Tigger stepped over to Beth and the wedding planner guided them a few feet away to a place for them to get a quick picture before they started to walk up the aisle to meet Puck.

Once Beth and Tigger were halfway up the walkway, Flynn and Arin linked arms and followed the same steps Beth and Tigger had just taken, pausing briefly for a photo before walking up the aisle. Deborah and Aladdin were next and once the two began walking up the aisle, David and Alan helped Rachel out of the carriage.

The two men helped adjust her dress and veil, since she didn't want it covering her face, "I should be asking if you two are ready," Rachel commented.

David and Alan exchanged glances, "well, um, yes and no," Alan admitted, rubbing his neck.

"Dad!" Rachel gasped, "what's wrong?"

"Relax sweetheart," David assured her, resting his hand on her shoulder, "it's just a little hard to finally admit you're getting married. We're happy to give you our blessing and we know you and Noah will be happy together, so we're not worried. We always knew you'd get married one day, but now it's really happening, so it's a big deal for us."

"It's a big deal for me, too, but I'll always be your little girl and you're not losing me," Rachel promised.

"We know that," Alan replied, slipping his arm around her shoulders and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"And now isn't about us, it's about you and Noah. We can talk later," David added, giving Rachel a quick hug.

"Good idea," she agreed, smiling brightly. Alan held up an arm and Rachel slid hers through his and took her bouquet in that hand, before linking arms with David, "let's do this!"

...

Puck happily watched from where he was standing, as Beth, Arin and his mom were escorted up the walkway by one of their favorite Disney characters. Beth had a bright grin on her face and he smiled at her, amazed at how beautiful she looked. She never dressed up, so to see her in a dress was definitely a special moment and it also made him realize that she was growing up; something he definitely didn't want to deal with. Pushing his thoughts aside as she reached him, the two waved at Tigger as he stepped aside and Beth moved over to Puck. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her forehead before she took his hand and waited.

Squeezing her hand, Puck returned his gaze to the aisle and watched his sister, Flynn, his mom and Aladdin walking towards them. When they got up to him, he nodded at the guys and hugged his mom and sister before they took a spot near them and everyone turned to look towards the end of the aisle where Rachel and her dads were now standing.

Overhead, speakers began to play 'Beauty and the Beast', the song by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson from the Disney movie of the same name. The words to the song brought tears to his eyes and he quickly reached up and wiped them away as he watched his soon-to-be wife walk towards him. Her dress was gorgeous, flowing in the light breeze as she walked, the material almost sparkling in the partially sunny day they were fortunate to have. Though, nothing compared to how beautiful she looked with her brunette hair hanging down, but pulled back loosely under her veil, and some cascading gently over her bare shoulders, while her eyes sparkled in the partially sunny day. "_I'm so lucky,_" he thought, glancing at Beth next to him, "_I've got a beautiful daughter and about to have a gorgeous wife; yep, definitely the luckiest guy ever,_" he grinned, meeting Rachel's bright smile.

As Rachel and her dads walked down the aisle, she did her best to conceal her emotions, but as she smiled and nodded at characters she loved from various Disney movies, she felt tears building in her eyes. She realized she was walking towards her future and seeing Puck standing with Beth, she knew, without a doubt, that she was right where she wanted to be and was thankful for her past choices that helped her get there.

Coming to a stop at the end of the aisle, the music ended and Puck stepped up to Rachel and her dads. The couple shared a smile and Rachel hugged each of her dads and Puck shook their hands, before the two men took Rachel's right hand and gently placed it in Puck's left. David and Alan moved aside and Rachel and Puck laced their fingers together, touching for the first time that day.

"Hey, babe," Puck whispered under his breath.

"Hey, sweetheart," Rachel replied softly, handing her bouquet to Arin so her hands could be free, "ready?"

"Definitely. You?"

"I am," she blushed, squeezing his hand in response as they stepped closer to the Justice of the Peace and nodded at him.

The man took the hint that they were ready, so he began, "good afternoon, everyone. We're gathered here on this beautiful winter day to witness the marriage of Noah and Rachel, a union of love, trust and honor, by two fully consenting adults," he glanced around, "is there anyone here who has a reason why this couple should not be married?" When the large group remained quiet, he smiled, "very good," he paused, "who gives this bride to be married?"

"Her dad and I do," David said, smiling and getting a nod in agreement from Alan.

The Justice of the Peace nodded and then turned to look at Noah, "Noah, in front of these witnesses, do you take Rachel to be your lawful wedded wife? To have and hold, from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to love and cherish, and to stand faithfully by her side, as long as you both shall live?"

Puck glanced at Rachel and smiled at her, before turning to look at the man, "I do."

"Rachel, in front of these witnesses, do you take Noah to be your lawful wedded husband? To have and hold, from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to love and cherish, and to stand faithfully by his side, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Rachel responded as she returned Puck's smile.

"Noah, Rachel, would you two please face each other, join hands and then Noah, you may begin your vows," the man told him.

The couple turned to each other, joined hands for a moment and then Puck let go of one of her hands to rest his on her cheek, "Rachel, I'm all yours and I'm truly looking forward to spending the rest of my life with you. You're an amazing woman and mother and I feel like the luckiest guy in the world. I promise I'll always treat you with respect, I'll be by your side for every moment and no matter what, we'll get through life's ups and downs together. You are my soul mate, I love you, and I'm never letting you go," he said honestly, smiling at her and gently wiping away the tears that fell from her eyes.

Rachel reached up and joined her hand with his on her cheek and returned his smile through tears. Knowing it was her turn, she took a deep breath and gathered her emotions, hoping to get through the next words without crying anymore, "Noah, you've given me two amazing gifts; you've welcomed me into your life again and have let me become a mom. I feel so blessed to be in your lives and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I promise to be there for you, to trust you and to be honest with you about everything. I'm yours and I'll never give you a reason to doubt my promise, because I finally got you back in my life and I'm definitely not letting you go; I will fight for you, for us. I love you."

Puck really wanted to kiss her at that moment, but he knew he had to wait, so he settled to just smile at her, wiping her tears as they fell and tried to keep his own from falling.

"May I have the rings, please?" The Justice of the Peace asked and David stepped forward with the open ring box and handed it to him. "Noah, take Rachel's ring and slide it on her finger while repeating after me," the man paused while Puck did as he asked.

The couple let go of their hands and Puck took the smaller of the two rings and picked up Rachel's left hand, gently removing her engagement ring so he could slide the band on first and then the engagement ring, the way she said she wanted to wear them, "Rachel, I give you this ring, as a symbol of my promise, with all that I am, and all that I have, I will love you forever."

"And now, Rachel, your turn. Take Noah's ring and put it on his finger while repeating after me," the man explained.

Rachel took a moment to look at the new ring on her finger, along with her engagement ring and then reached for the larger band. With shaky hands, she picked up Noah's and gently began to slide the ring on, "Noah, I give you this ring, as a symbol of my promise, with all that I am, and all that I have, I will love you forever," she smiled as the two joined hands again.

"Noah, Rachel, you have chosen to become husband and wife. You promise to honor, love, respect and support each other for the rest of your lives and I wish you luck and many years of happiness in your future," the Justice of the Peace offered, pausing briefly to nod at them, "and by the authority vested in me, by the laws of the state of California, I now pronounce you, husband and wife. You may now seal your bond with a kiss."

Relief washed over the couple as they wrapped their arms around each other and pressed their lips together for the first time as husband and wife. Rachel's arms snaked around Puck's shoulders and his slid around her waist, lifting her up gently for a moment as they kissed. Losing themselves in that moment, all of the nerves and emotions they'd built up began to flow into their kiss and wash away with the happy tears that fell from their eyes.

Keeping in mind where there were, they didn't let their kiss last too long, but their family members and guests had plenty of time to clap, cheer and whistle at them. Reluctantly giving in, Puck placed Rachel's feet back on the ground and they pulled their lips apart to hug tightly, before joining hands and facing everyone, smiling and waving in thanks as congratulatory words were called out.

As they pulled apart, the Justice of the Peace stepped to the side and smiled, "congratulations, Noah and Rachel," he paused and turned to look at everyone else, "it is my honor to introduce, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Noah Puckerman!"

Beth skipped over and threw her arms around Puck and Rachel's legs and the small family shared an emotional hug, before Puck picked Beth up so she could be eye level with him and Rachel, "I'm so happy!" She admitted, hugging her parents.

"I am, too," Rachel agreed, kissing Beth's cheek as they hugged.

Puck slipped his arm around Rachel's shoulders and smiled at his wife and daughter, "that makes three of us."

...

Their parents and Puck's sister gave the couple and their daughter a few moments of excitement before they went over and hugged them in congratulations. Their marriage officially joined the Puckerman and Berry families and everyone was glad to finally see Puck and Rachel happy and knew they belonged together and now they finally were.

The Justice of the Peace gave the new family some time to celebrate and hug each other, but he had another place to be and needed to get them to sign the license, so he stepped forward, "I hate to interrupt, but we should sign your license, so I can get to my next appointment and you all can get to your celebrations," he said politely.

"Not a problem," Puck smiled, setting Beth down, "where do I sign?"

Puck signed the paper first without hesitation and then handed the clipboard it was on to Rachel. She grinned and scrawled her signature along the line, using Berry for one of the last official times. It wouldn't be until they returned to Lima that she'd have time to file the paperwork to change her last name, legally, to Puckerman.

David signed the license as a witness and Deborah also signed as one and then handed it back to the Justice of the Peace who was the last to sign it, "it's all official," he confirmed, "as soon as I get to the courthouse I'll file these and when it's processed, I'll ship it to you," he explained. The license itself was a single sheet of paper, but had multiple layers, allowing more than one copy, the Justice of the Peace could keep one, one could be filed with the courthouse and the other was for the couple, which he handed Rachel when he took the papers apart.

"Thank you, so much," Rachel smiled, taking the the paper.

"You're very welcome. Congratulations," he smiled, "and have a safe trip home."

"Thanks," Puck nodded at him and the man shook their hands, before he and his assistant excused themselves and left.

...

While planning the wedding, they were given a two hour block at the castle, which gave them plenty of time after the ceremony for photos. Once the Justice of the Peace was gone, the wedding planner suggested they get ready for the photos so they didn't run out of time, and the first photo was a large group one of the Puckerman and Berry family, along with all the Disney characters in attendance.

After the large group shot was taken, a few characters at a time got photos with the new couple and the whole family, also giving them an opportunity to congratulate them and speak for a few moments with them. Once the photos were taken, the characters left, thinning out the large group, until just the small family was left, so they moved on to the family photos. It didn't take too long, since there was only seven of them, and when they finished up, they piled into the carriage the girls had arrived in and returned to the hotel for a small reception in a reserved VIP room at the restaurant.

Many of the staff members greeted them and congratulated them as they walked through the lobby and when they stepped into the reserved room, they saw their cake for the first time. It was two-tiered, covered in all white, with silver Mickey shapes stamped into the fondant and as a topper, instead of the traditional bride and groom, they picked the rose from the 'Beauty and the Beast', a glass rose set into a base with a few petals laying on the base, all under a glass dome to protect it. To also go along with the rose theme, the table around the cake had red rose petals and silver Mickey shaped confetti to bring the cake together on the white tablecloth.

"Oh wow! It's prettier than I thought it would be!" Rachel gasped, moving over to the cake.

"It is," Puck agreed, following her, "but I know something that's a lot prettier than that," he admitted, slipping his arms around her waist from behind.

Rachel grinned and sunk into his arms for comfort, "thanks."

"No problem," he smiled, relaxing for a moment.

"Are we having cake now?" Beth asked curiously.

"No, kiddo," Puck smirked, "we're going to eat dinner first and then we'll have cake."

"Oh," Beth sighed, "alright."

The group laughed lightly and moved over to the round table in the room, covered in a white tablecloth and took seats around it.

"Did anyone actually sleep last night?" Rachel asked, taking a moment to relax for what felt like the first time that day.

"I honestly haven't slept much since we've been here," Arin admitted.

"You didn't? You sure were sound asleep when I checked on you about three," Puck said, glancing at Rachel next to him.

"You checked on me?" Rachel blushed.

"Yeah. I know we agreed to sleep apart for the night, but the couch is not as comfortable as I thought it'd be, so I couldn't stay asleep. Figured I'd check on you to see how you were sleeping and the blankets were uncovering you, so I covered you up," he explained.

"Thank you," she reached out and took his hand, "and we could have slept together, but it just..."

"I know, babe, don't worry about it," he assured her, lifting their joined hands and pressing a kiss to her hand, "one night apart before our wedding is worth it, knowing that we'll spend the rest of our lives sleeping together."

"It does," she nodded, leaning over and kissing him, "our wedding... We're married!" She grinned brightly, throwing her other arm around his neck, "I love you."

"I love you, too," he replied, hugging her for a brief moment, before pulling back when him stomach growled, "sorry."

Rachel shook her head, "it's alright. I'm hungry, too. I think we should eat and then go upstairs."

...

Taking their time to relax and talk, the family enjoyed their meal and discussed various topics, including their plans for the next day, the last full day in California. They'd all really loved their vacation, but it'd been a lot more than they were expecting, so they were looking forward to getting home to recuperate from their trip.

Their photographer and wedding planner had given them some time alone to eat, but about an hour after they started eating, they returned so the photographer could take pictures of them cutting the cake. Along with their return, brought several Disney characters, including Belle and the Beast, Mickey and Minnie, Aladdin and Jasmine, and Rapunzel and Flynn, the same people playing them as had been earlier in the day.

The family had just finished eating, making it a great time to cut the cake, so Puck and Rachel got up and went over to greet the arrivals. The couple got some photos next to their cake with and without the characters in it and soon Rachel and Puck were standing behind the cake, both holding the knife and slicing into the second layer of the vanilla cake with raspberry filling.

"Be nice," Rachel murmured as they freed the first piece.

Puck smirked, "alright. I'll be good," he promised, picking up the plate and handing her a fork.

Each getting a bite of cake onto their fork, they turned and fed each other the cake, without making a mess. "Though it would have been funny the other way," Puck added with a grin.

"Maybe, but I'm glad you didn't," she stepped closer to him and leaned up, "or tonight wouldn't be as fun," she whispered, winking at him.

Setting the plate down, he slid his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her lips, "then I'm definitely glad I played nice."

Rachel nodded, "me, too."

...

A couple servers came in to help cut the cake the rest of the way, giving the family a chance to eat after it was passed out, mingle with the visiting characters and get some more pictures before the night was over. While everyone was talking, Rachel noticed David get up and walk out of the room. She thought it was a little odd he didn't say anything, but passed it off for a few moments, but once he was gone more than a few minutes, she looked at Alan, "dad, where's daddy?"

"He went to get something. He'll be back shortly," Alan assured her.

"Oh, alright," she nodded, glancing towards the door and seeing him returning with something in his hand. "Daddy, where did you go?"

Retaking his seat next to Alan, he held out a key card with a different room number written on it, "just out to the front desk to get this."

"What's that?" Puck asked curiously, noticing Rachel taking it.

"It's another room for the night, for you two," Alan replied.

"What? Why?" Rachel gasped.

"Sweetheart, it's your wedding night. We're sure you'd be more comfortable continuing to celebrate your night _alone_, since we're all sharing the same suite. This way, you have the night to yourselves and can meet up with us in the morning," David explained.

"You guys didn't have to do that, but thank you," Puck smiled, glancing at his wife.

Rachel's cheeks flushed and she nodded, "yes, thank you."

...

Puck and Rachel didn't expect to have a night apart from the family after their wedding, but they were happily surprised at their gift. They loved their family and didn't mind being around them, but given it was their wedding night, they were looking forward to some time alone.

After mingling and talking, the photographer and the wedding planner needed to go, so they spoke briefly about some details, before they left. Their photographer promised to have a disc of all their pictures delivered to them the next day, before they left California, so when they returned to Lima, they could pick the ones they wanted to have developed.

Saying 'goodnight' to their family, Puck and Rachel excused themselves a little later to head up to the room they'd been staying in to collect a change of clothes and some toiletries for the morning. Once they got their things, they headed to their new room and as soon as Rachel put the key card into the door and pushed it open, she tried to step inside, but Puck stopped her.

"Hold on, babe," he smirked, tossing his bag into the room and then wrapped an arm around her back, "there's something I want to do first."

"What's that?" Rachel asked curiously.

"This," he bent down just a little and hooked his other arm under her legs and lifted her up, carrying her easily into the room, "I do believe this is tradition."

Rachel giggled lightly, "I've heard that," she agreed, kissing him gently as he put her down.

Returning her kiss, Puck reached for the light and turned it on, giving a warm glow over the room. Shutting the door carefully, the two moved further inside and smiled as they looked around, "this is a nice place."

"It is," Rachel agreed, setting her purse down on the large king bed.

Against the far wall with the large window, was a small couch and across from the bed was a TV entertainment center. Just down from that was a mini fridge and microwave and on the other side of the bed was a small table with two chairs. On top of the table was a large platter of chocolate covered strawberries and two bottles of sparkling apple cider in a vase of ice and two glasses sitting beside it.

"Oh those look so good, but I just can't eat anything else right now. Between appetizers, dinner and cake, I'm full," Rachel murmured, turning to lean against the table.

Puck smirked, shrugging out of his jacket and draping it over one of the chairs, "yeah, I know what you mean," he stepped forward and slid his arms around her back, letting one hand move to rest on the zipper of her dress, "I have an idea how we could work up an appetite."

Rachel couldn't help the light moan escape her lips at his suggestion and she nodded as her hands rested on his chest, finding the buttons of his shirt. Undoing each one, she looked up at him and smiled, "what if I told you I have nothing on under my dress?"

A gasp escaped his lips and his shocked eyes stared at her, "are you serious?"

"I don't know," she winked, tugging his shirt out from under his waistband, "let's get the blankets pulled back and then you can undress me to find out," she suggested, her eyes sparkling.

Without hesitation, Puck grinned and dashed to the bed. He picked up her bag and set it in one of the chairs and then tugged the blankets back. Kicking off his shoes, he stepped back to her and removed his dress shirt and undershirt, laying them with his jacket, before returning to her. Resting his hands on her hips, he guided her back and leaned down to kiss her, letting his arms snake around her body.

Rachel let him lead, while her arms moved to wrap around his neck, not wanting to end their kiss, but when she felt the bed near and Puck stop, she broke their lips apart to smile, "I think we're both a little over dressed," she whispered, kicking off the white flip-flops she'd chosen to wear for the wedding.

Taking the invitation, Puck nodded and found the zipper of her dress again. Carefully working it down, he exposed more of her skin and started to push her dress down, "you were gorgeous today," he murmured, kissing her cheek and gently placing kisses down her neck, "I'm the luckiest guy in the world."

Tears filled her eyes at his words, "Noah, you're going to make me cry," she replied softly, letting her hands find the button of his pants.

Pausing what he was doing, Puck lifted his hands and rested him on her cheeks, "sorry," he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

"Don't be. They're happy tears," she assured him, taking a step back to let her dress fall to the floor, "told you."

Puck's eyes widened in shock at seeing her body completely exposed to him, but as the shock wore off, he took a moment to let everything soak in. He wasn't just staring at a girl he knew in high school or a girlfriend he'd reconnected with after years apart; she was now his wife. "You're so beautiful," he smiled, stepping forward to wrap his arms around her, "I love you."

"I love you, too, Noah," she replied, snuggling against his toned chest, feeling safe in his arms, "and I'm the luckiest wife in the world."

Turning them around so Rachel's back was to the bed, Puck nudged his boxers and pants down and kicked them off quickly, before slipping his arms around her again and leaning her back onto the bed. Both of them carefully inched their way up to the pillows and Rachel rested a hand on his cheek, "Noah, make love to me."

"Don't have to ask me twice," he assured her, leaning in to press a kiss to her lips.

...

"We definitely need to find a way to thank our parents," Puck murmured, tugging the sheet up over them as they relaxed.

"I honestly don't even know where to begin with that, but I do agree," she nodded, settling on her back next to him.

Puck's hand came to rest on her stomach and his thumb gently brushed her soft skin, "how's our baby?"

"Just fine," she assured him, "I can't wait to find out what we're having so we don't have to keep saying 'it' or 'they'. Oh, um, do you want to find out?" She wondered, realizing they hadn't really talked about that.

"If you want to find out, then we will. I have no preference. Though I think knowing would be better, so we can decorate accordingly," he explained.

"It does make more sense, but also the mystery is fun, too. I'd rather know," she paused, taking a deep breath, "we've got a lot to do when we get home."

"Yeah, getting the rest of your stuff moved either into the house or into storage, figuring out what we're going to do with living arrangements, get the adoption going," Puck rattled off, thinking about all the things he knew of.

"Adoption?" Rachel gasped, "what do you mean?"

Puck smiled, "now that we're married, I'm going to contact the lawyer who dealt with the custody hearing when Beth was born and have him draw up the papers to file for you to legally adopt Beth as your daughter. By the time the baby is born, I hope it can be official."

"Oh Noah," Rachel sat up a little to wrap her arms around him, "I know we've talked about it, but I didn't know you'd get that going this soon, but I'm all for it. There's no doubt in my mind that I want her to be mine and if that's what we need to do, then let's do it."

"I'm glad you feel that way," he murmured, kissing her lovingly, "I know she'll be excited and I want her to be ours, in every way."

"Me too," Rachel grinned, "is this a reason why you suggested getting married here?"

Puck blushed, shifting a little, "yeah, it helped me decide to go for it. I wanted to marry you because I want to be with you forever, but I won't deny it's a benefit for the adoption process, so, um, I don't want you to think that it's the only reason..."

"Noah, relax," Rachel interrupted, kissing him softly, "I get it. I never thought it was the only reason. You're right. It is a benefit and when you first brought it up, it's something I thought of, too. I'm actually glad we got married here, for that, but also because I'll be showing soon and I don't know how I'd feel about having a wedding while I'm that far along," she admitted, "and it's a lot of stress that might not be good for a pregnancy."

"There is that," he agreed, relaxing, "it is a lot of stress and I definitely don't want you or the baby stressing out. Sometime after he or she is born, we can renew our vows and have a big Jewish wedding, complete with a Ketuba and a Huppah that all our friends and family can attend."

"Someday we can do that, but Noah," she pressed a kiss to his lips, "today was perfect and I told you I don't need a big fancy wedding. I already have an amazing husband and a beautiful daughter; I've got all I need," she explained, crawling on top of him, "besides, a big traditional Jewish wedding would be nice, but I honestly don't know how we're gonna be able to top today."

Puck grinned at her response and rested his hands on her hips, "you make a very good point, my beautiful wife."

"I have my moments," she smirked, "how about we focus on the near future and I think things will fall into place when it's meant to happen."

Sitting up a little, Puck slid his arms around her waist, "I completely agree."

"Great! Now, those chocolate covered strawberries are calling my name, so I think we should open one of those bottles of sparkling apple cider and toast to our marriage," she suggested, lifting her left hand to show off her engagement and wedding rings.

Puck lifted his left hand to take her hand and squeezed it gently, holding them so both of their rings were visible. Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to her hand and then nodded, "I think that's an awesome idea, baby."

...

**Reference links:  
**Cake topper  
( disneyeveryday beauty-and-the-beast-red-rose-disney-wedding-cake )  
Cake  
( disneyfairytales wp-content / gallery / disney-cinderella-fairy-tale-wedding-cakes / disneyland-wedding-cake . jpg )  
Cake found here  
( projectwedding post / list / disney-themed-cakes )

**The ceremony:  
**I tried to go with the familiar sayings we hear a lot, (you know, the '_to have and hold, from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health..._'), but just to make sure I incorporated the right things, I also glanced at a few websites to get ideas for the rest of the ceremony, since I haven't been to many weddings.  
(A) ( mag . weddingcentral . com . au / ceremonies / traditional . htm )  
(B) ( ehow info_10000814_said-during-justice-peace-wedding-vows . html )

...

A/N5: I hope you enjoyed this update! It's been a long time since I last posted and I'm so sorry for that. I'm still here and am _not_ leaving the Puckleberry bubble at all, but I'm just dealing with my depression that has kicked me in the butt. It makes it hard to focus and usually writing helps, but when I can't stay focused, I get sidetracked easily, so it's hard to keep at it. That's why my updates have been so far apart. I don't want you all to think I'm giving up, because I haven't. I'm still here, and working as fast as I can to get updates written (and a few new fics, too!), but I'm also taking care of myself, so the updates may continue like this for a while, until I can get things under control. Hopefully that will be soon. Until then, you can always message me here or find me on Twitter and Tumblr as EJ8302.

A/N6: After writing this chapter, I realized how I want to finish this story. I'm not sure how many chapters it will be, but we're close to an ending, though I don't know the exact number of chapters left.

A/N7: In case you were curious about the two Jewish items Puck mentioned at the end... One is the Ketuba, which is a marriage contract the bride, groom, two non-family witnesses and the rabbi sign just before the ceremony, and the other is the Huppah, which is the canopy the couple stand under during the ceremony. I've learned about them for the wedding in 'Broken Road', which will be in that fic's next update, but I'm not sure when it will get written.

...


End file.
